The Annihilation of Jennifer Jareau
by JillRJohnson
Summary: JJ is taken by the BAU's latest Unsub. As the team tries to forgive the betrayal of Emily's faked death will they be able to survive the annihilation of Jennifer Jareau. Will contain violence. Rated M for obvious reasons.
1. Chapter 1

**The Annihilation of Jennifer Jareau**

1

Better Than Revenge

Agent Jennifer Jareau, aka JJ, often felt the impending danger when in the field, but never before had she felt it so heavily. As she dodged trees that seem to pop up from nowhere, and stumbled over fallen limbs below her line of sight, she breathed in slowly and deeply, the cold air thick with fog. Her thin FBI-issued windbreaker and bullet-proof Kevlar vest were barely keeping her warm.

She knew the coldness was as much metaphorical as it was literal. She had spent too many nights alone in the previous year. Her ex-fiancé, Will, had disappeared in the middle of the night 9 months earlier, a note of apology on his pillow. He had left her to raise their 3 year old son, alone.

She then returned to the BAU just seven months later. Her team received her warmly; especially Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia who had refused to get to know Agent Seaver, the rookie that essentially filled the empty seat left by JJ. One week after JJ returned, Seaver happily transferred out of the BAU.

Two weeks after that, Agent Emily Prentiss returned from the dead. JJ and BAU leader Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner had to admit to their teammates that they knew all along she was alive. JJ watched Garcia's eyes as they delivered the news to the team. There had been a mix of elation and betrayal as she had looked at JJ.

In the last month and a half, the rest of the team was still resentful and kept conversations with Hotch, Prentiss, and JJ limited to work. JJ hoped with time there would be forgiveness.

The fog was tangible against her already chilled, pale skin. Her right hand gripped the handle of her Glock handgun; index finger hovering nervously over the trigger. Her left hand was curled tightly around her flashlight. She could hear footsteps. Her tension released slightly knowing her team was close behind.

It had been four very long days of profiling and hunting for the man responsible for the rape, torture, and murder of 13 women in the Smoky Mountains over the course of two years. They had finally caught a break when Dr. Spencer Reid's geographic profiling pinpointed a specific area of the national park in which to search.

Images from the crime scene photos invaded her already disturbed thoughts until the worried voice of Agent Emily Prentiss coming through her ear piece broke her onslaught of imagery, "JJ we've lost visual on you. The fog is too heavy in this area. We can't see your light."

JJ stopped and turned several times searching for her teammates. As quickly as her eyes focused, she realized she had lost her bearings. She inhaled and exhaled audibly. She was lost.

"JJ?" Agent Prentiss persisted.

A quiet voice in JJ's conscience told her she couldn't leave the woods without the latest victim. She was intelligent enough to know that every case she worked was her personal mission. It was her method of trying to make up for the betraying her teammates.

She spoke into the microphone attached to the t-shirt below her jacket and vest, "I'm not turning back now. If he has another victim then maybe we can get to her before it's too late. I have to do this."

"JJ, you have nothing to prove to anyone," she looked pointedly at Agent David Rossi and Agent Derrick Morgan.

JJ knew that wasn't true. Her team didn't trust her. They once considered her the heart of the group, "Em, I'm not stopping. Besides, you guys are close behind me, I can hear you walking."

"Get out. Get out now," JJ could tell Emily was trying not to panic. "We're not behind you, JJ. We're all back at the road."

JJ's heartbeat quickened to the threshold of panic. She stilled herself, closing her eyes and focusing on the sounds around her. She knew he was watching her. She knew he was close. She knew if he had the chance he would take her. She knew if she didn't get out she would die.

With sudden, great, force, JJ felt her blonde hair being violently yanked. Her gun and flashlight were knocked immediately to the ground. A rough hand was pushing against her face, trying to cover her mouth. A scream escape before she was silenced with a blow to the back of the head.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"JJ?" Emily looked at the other agents of the Behavioral Analysis Unit. She shook her head, eyes wide with fear when their younger co-worker didn't respond, "JJ, hang on! I'm coming."

The ever-growing fear in the air was shattered by a piercing scream. Hotch quickly barked out orders and his team divided into the woods. Morgan and Reid headed in the direction Prentiss had already sprinted, while Hotch and Rossi headed in another.

The fog made it impossible for them to search quickly or efficiently. They had been calling for JJ for more than 15 minutes when Emily finally stumbled upon JJ's flashlight on the ground. The light was still beaming brightly and in its illumination Emily could see the Glock that JJ had been holding. There was no other sign of JJ or JJ's microphone and ear piece. Her stomach filled with acid at the realization that it was all really happening.

"Hotch!" Emily called out to her boss, "I've got something."

She hated that her ability to compartmentalize had taken over, when her inner being was shaking with the sinking feeling that her best friend had been taken by a truly evil man. She fought back any emotion that dared to show as Hotch got on the radio calling for immediate backup.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The first things she saw as she came to were the imaginary stars circling the peripheral of her vision. As her vision cleared slowly she could barely make out the real stars in the sky moving quickly overhead. The fog was gone. Her arms were aching, her back burning. She was being dragged through the forest by rope tied around her wrists.

She couldn't tell what time it was or how long she had been out. She couldn't really see the face of the man dragging her. She quickly committed to memory the few details she could ascertain. She could tell the direction they were heading. The stars were excellent navigating tools. She could see by his silhouette that the man who had abducted her was at least six feet tall and very muscular.

Inspite of her insurmountable fear, she took a head-to-toe inventory of aches, pains and changes in her body. She quickly discovered why her back was burning as the underbrush scraped her skin. Her bullet-proof vest and jacket had been removed and she was now down to her thin white t-shirt. She found small comfort in knowing that her adrenaline was keeping her warm.

Her head was throbbing from the blow that had rendered her unconscious, but other than that, she was uninjured. JJ debated her next move. She wanted to panic. She wanted to kick and scream and make it really hard for him, but she also wanted to find the latest missing girl.

She tried to look at the man's face as her eyes adjusted to the dark. Her voice was as calm as she could make it, "Where are you taking me?"

The man's voice was low, gruff, creepy, "Shut up."

JJ tried to dig her heels into the ground to make some resistance and slow his journey. He jerked hard on the rope that bound her hands. Her shoulders jerked upwards sending a brief pain through her muscles.

"Where are you taking me?" JJ persisted louder but still in control of her emotions.

"Shut up," he answered again, annoyance obvious in his voice.

JJ fought the urge to cry and thought of how stoic Emily always was in the face of danger. She wanted to emulate that. The skin on her back screamed at her to fight, to make noise, to wrestle him to the ground and strangle him with the rope he had used to tie her hands.

As he dragged her over another patch of thorns, she finally screamed. She screamed as long and as loud as she could. She called out into the dark night hoping for a response. The only response she received was a chuckle from the man pulling her.

"Let me go," She screamed at him.

He dropped her hands and she felt some relief from the pain. The relief was replaced with fear as he moved above her. She kicked her foot out toward his groin but he caught her ankle in his large hand. She cried out again as he raised his free hand and violently backhanded her sending her reeling into unconsciousness. Before completely blacking out, she heard his voice.

"I told you to shut up."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been 45 minutes since the abduction of SSA Jennifer Jareau. Emily ran a shaky hand through her dark hair as she paused long enough to get her bearings. They had broken up into 5 groups of three. Each of the agents had a Tennessee state trooper and park ranger with them.

Emily knew they were only half an hour behind the unsub and JJ, but it was a half hour too long. She thought about the phone call she made to Garcia. They had spent the last month and a half not really talking. Emily felt guilty that JJ apologized every chance she could to the woman for having to lie to her. Emily refused to apologize. They had done what needed to be done to protect a little boy and to save Emily's life.

Emily had relayed the information of JJ's abduction to Garcia and had been met with silence. As she heard Garcia stifle a sob, she was relieved and heartbroken to know that the silence was because Garcia had been taken over by her emotions. The sound of her close friend breaking down over JJ's very sudden disappearance broke Emily's compartments. Her own emotions spilled into her professional demeanor. She had delivered the news to Garcia with tears in her eyes, a catch in her voice.

Garcia had only responded with, "Don't you come back Emily. Do you understand me. Don't you leave those woods without her. I lost you once, and she brought you back…now you do the same for her."

Emily had known with those words that forgiveness had been given. She prayed it wasn't too late.

She shook the phone call out of her mind, but she couldn't shake the emotional lump in her throat. She coughed once before turning to the ranger.

"Are there any cabins out here?"

He shook his head, "None on the books, ma'am, but mountain folk build what they want, where they want. Could be a hunting shed here somewhere and we'd never know it."

"But you'd know if there was hunting," Emily concluded.

The ranger nodded, "We get a poacher…we make an arrest."

Emily slid her cell phone out of her pocket and called Garcia again. She needed information but she also needed to hear the voice of someone who truly could understand the fear coursing through her system. They were both terrified of what was going to happen to JJ. The reports, the pictures, the bodies of the victims were all evidence of what their unsub could do to the young blonde.

"Garcia," Penelope answered without her usual jovial manner.

"It's Emily," Emily tried to swallow the knot in her throat again with no result, "I need you to look something up for me."

"If it'll help get JJ back then name it. I'll do anything," Garcia responded with conviction.

"Can you search for locals from this area and see if any have priors dealing with hunting, poaching, or any trouble with a game warden?"

"Got it. Any more parameters?"

"Not yet," Emily stated, "If I come up with anything I'll let you know."

Emily paused, "Has the rest of the team checked in with you?"

"Everyone. No news."

Emily nodded to herself. She looked at the ranger and officer in front of her on the trail. Her feet were numb from the cold and she thought about JJ. She wondered if she was hurt, scared, trying to be brave when she shouldn't be.

"Em?" Garcia was still on the line.

Emily sighed, "I'll check in if we find anything."

"Bring her home Em. Just bring JJ home."

Emily ended the call and slid her cell phone in her pocket. They walked another hundred feet when a voice came over the trooper's radio, "Team 3 to all searchers, we've found your agent's vest and jacket."

Emily glanced at the GPS tracking device in her hand. They had been assigned numbers and given transmitters. Team 3 was only two hundred yards west. Emily wanted to see the evidence. She wanted to be close to anything JJ. She wouldn't lose anything or anyone else.


	2. Captured

2

Captured

JJ was afraid to open her eyes. She was lying on a soft surface. A heavy weight over her mouth indicated that there was duct tape there preventing her from speaking. The same heavy feeling wrapped around her wrists. She breathed in deeply. She could smell the odor of decay, of death. Her body burned with the scrapes and bruises caused by being dragged through the woods. She debated opening her eyes, but knew if she wanted to determine how long she'd been unconscious she would have to visually survey her surroundings.

Slowly her lids fluttered open. She saw him standing over a table. She refused to focus on his activity and instead let her eyes wander over the various structures and objects around her. She was in a cabin, or shack, of some sort. There was one window and a door. Her heart quickened as she realized she was on a bed. There were no covers, just a filthy, stained mattress. JJ refused to think about the stains' origins.

She took note of the floor where the unsub stood. Dark discolorations covered areas of the wooden floor beneath the table. Involuntarily, her eyes searched upward. A small whimper escaped through the tape on her mouth as she saw the blonde hair of a lifeless body on the table beneath the unsub's hands.

The tiny noise she made alerted her captor that she was awake. He turned toward her, a vicious smile crossing his face. She swallowed the fear taking form in her throat.

His voice, as gruff as it had been in the woods, reached her ears, "I'm sorry I had to hit you, but I'm not one for conversing with dirty whores."

JJ had several sarcastic comments for the psychopath, and was glad that the duct tape was preventing her from speaking. She looked past him to the body on the table. She couldn't tell if the woman was alive, or dead. She could see that the woman was in her late 20s to early 30s. She surmised it was the same woman reported missing from a local neighborhood who they had assumed was his latest victim.

He gently cupped her chin and turned her attention to him again. JJ felt disgust with the touch of his rough, calloused hands. JJ tried not to cry harder as she realized that she, herself, was his latest victim.

"Don't mind her. She won't regain consciousness for some time. The drugs are keeping her in my control. She's been fun, but now that I have you, I don't think I'll need her. Perhaps when she wakes up, I'll let you help me kill her."

JJ wished she could stop her tears from betraying her stoic front. She could not stop her emotions, or the terror building within. She pulled her body as far from him as she could. She found herself pressed against the wall.

He laughed, "Do you really think that a few feet of space is going to save you?"

JJ began to feel claustrophobic as he neared closer. She instinctively kicked her feet out toward his face making contact with his chin. His head snapped backward and sent him to his knees next to the bed. JJ quickly scrambled from the bed and ran for the door. However, he recovered fast enough to grab her by her ankle.

With her hands still bound together by the tape she had no way to brace her fall. She managed to twist her body enough the take the brunt of the fall on her shoulder. The impact knocked the breath out of her lungs and in the time it took her to have another thought, the unsub was on top of her; his face red with anger, sweat dripping from his forehead.

He spoke in a hiss, spittle flying from his lips, "Do you really think you're going to ever get the upper hand Jennifer? Do you?"

JJ couldn't hide the shock of discovering her captor knew her name. He grinned maliciously, "What? You didn't think I knew who you were? I've been keeping up with you Jennifer. I know they call you JJ. But I prefer your proper name."

JJ wanted nothing more than to get the girl off the table and run. But she knew she couldn't carry her, and outrun the unsub at the same time. She knew she would have to bide her time and endure whatever she had to in order to make sure she and the unknown girl got out alive.

He ran his hand intrusively down her stomach to the top of her pants. She twitched angrily and defiantly beneath him. She remembered every detail she had read in the case file. The horrible rapes his victims had endured. She felt her boots being jerked away from her feet.

"Don't tremble so, Jennifer," he whispered into her ear. "I'm not quite ready for you. I just don't want to have my face mangled or give you the chance to get far if you found an opportunity to run."

Despite the pain that radiated through her as he threw her on the bed, she also felt relief as he walked away and back to the table. He picked up a large hunting knife with a serrated blade and showed it to JJ. She flinched. He was warning her that if she tried to run he would use it.

She sat still as she watched him pick up a smaller blade and began to carve into the flesh of the unconscious woman on the table. JJ turned her eyes away, her heart pounding in her ears. She wished she had a weapon. She was great with a Glock. She hadn't yet mastered fighting with her hands.

Her only thoughts as she tried to block out the humming of the unsub were of Henry, and her friends at the BAU.

"What do we know about our unsub so far," Hotch directed the attention to the group sitting around the table of a borrowed interrogation room at the local police station. It had been four hours since JJ had been taken.

His voice was steady and sure, calm and confident. His team needed to see him strong and unfaltering. Meanwhile, his internal self was falling to pieces. There had been so much turmoil in his unit that he wasn't sure they would ever work properly together again.

Derrick Morgan leaned back in his chair, "Highly intelligent. He has 13 victims and only with the 13th were they linked."

Prentiss nodded, "Right. The first and last victims were found in the same area. Police didn't consider tapping into VICAP or going across state lines to check records."

Spencer stopped pacing, "He's organized. He's taking them from one location, then obviously taking these women somewhere else to…to do what he does with them, and then he dumps their bodies in a third location. He's extremely efficient in cleaning up after himself."

"Not that efficient," Rossi added, "He's left plenty of DNA in the victims."

Spencer shook his head, "He left the semen in these women on purpose. He's a classic narcissist. It's a part of him and therefore too good to be washed away. He wants to taint these girls forever."

Emily's stomach churned at the idea of JJ being out there somewhere with the killer they were discussing. The mere thought of the type of DNA they were talking about made her cringe. They had to get to her.

She began to think aloud, "The first and last bodies were both found within two miles of the spot that JJ disappeared. He must have his hideout somewhere out there."

Hotch nodded, "It's the most likely scenario, but those woods are thick, and with the tree coverage we won't see much via helicopter. I know the faster we move the better the chance of getting to JJ alive, but where do you suggest we start?"

"Trail dogs?" Morgan offered.

Emily shook her head, "They lost the scent an hour ago."

The door to the interrogation room burst open giving everyone a slight jolt. Emily was relieved and almost renewed by the energetically determined face of Penelope Garcia.

"I might be of some assistance with getting back our girl."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Despite the exhaustion coursing through her system and the ungodly hour of the night, JJ fought sleep with all her might. She didn't want to be any more vulnerable than she already was. She had avoided looking anywhere toward the unsub. She had heard the unmistakable grunts of sexual satisfaction coming from across the room as she kept her eyes closed and tried to drown out the sound with her own sobs. She didn't want to see or hear what he was doing to the still unconscious woman on the table.

Suddenly she felt herself being jerked to her feet. Her muscles ached with the motion. Her adrenaline renewed as she was forced to look at the table in the room. The woman was awake, her mouth uncovered. She was screaming so frantically that her fear seeped into JJ. JJ shook her head as she realized what the unsub was going to do.

Her hands were still bound in front of her with duct tape. She could feel his strong arms wrap around her from behind. He slipped the knife into her hands and held it there so forcefully that she could feel the small bones in her left hand crack. Pain shot up through her arm, but she could barely feel it amongst the terror that was seizing her whole body.

The unknown woman was now sobbing so heavily she could barely catch her breath. JJ wanted to tell her she was sorry, she wanted to tell her that it was going to be okay, but as the unsub lifted her hands with his, she knew okay was never going to exist again.

JJ closed her eyes as the unsub forced her resisting hands down with his, she could feel the knife sink into the woman's abdomen. Her own screaming was drowning out the painful wails of the now heavily bleeding woman. JJ tried to fight the man harder to get her hands off the knife. She knew there was something she should have been able to do, but she was weak.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Penelope Garcia's face was tear-stained but determined, "I found a possible location for the unsub."

Everyone in the interrogation room was silent and ready for some good news. Emily's face was tired and pale. She looked at Garcia as though she might hold the answers to the mysteries of the universe. As far as Emily was concerned, if what Garcia had to say took them to JJ, then she held the answer to the only mystery she cared about.

"Thomas Gorman. He was arrested several times in the late 90s for poaching on federal property. Each time it was within the same square mile. That location is ten miles into the woods from the point JJ was taken. Thank you again for sending me those coordinates, Sugar Plum."

Garcia nodded at Morgan who reciprocated with a slight tilt of his head. She looked at the rest of the team, "I've sent those coordinates to your handhelds."

The team was already exiting the door. Penelope was left alone in the room glad they were moving quickly, needing no thanks. She was surprised when Emily returned to the room, threw her arms around her in a bear hug.

"I won't come back without our JJ," Emily promised before disappearing again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

JJ couldn't open her eyes, she wouldn't. Even after the woman fell silent and JJ knew she was gone forever, she wouldn't open her eyes. She could feel too much. She felt the warm sick wetness of blood on her hands. Innocent blood on her hands.

She could feel the sexual excitement of the man standing too close to her back. Her heart was pounding in her ears. She could hear his breathing mixing in with the rhythms of her sobs. A victim had died and she knew somehow she was responsible.

JJ was surprised that she found the ability to fight him as he slammed her to the ground and crawled on top of her. She clawed at him as fast and hard as she could. Scratch marks appeared on his face. He laughed a maniacal sick laugh.

"Jennifer! That was beautiful. She died at your hands. The way the knife dug so deeply into her flesh. You did that." His voice held pride and passion.

JJ found herself shaking her head in protest and screaming "no" beneath the duct tape still on her mouth. He was too animalistic to care or hear. He ripped at her clothes, quickly tearing away her t-shirt and pants.

His lips assaulted her neck and face before moving toward her breasts. She succeeded in getting her taped hands between her and him. She felt intense shame in not being able to fight him effectively. She tried not to look at the still warm blood on her hands.

She tried not to look at anything. But she had to see how he was restraining her hands. He had pulled the bed frame over the loop the tape made out of her hands. She pulled hard against the bed but at the awkward angle she was in, she found it impossible.

She was trapped. He straddled her squirming body. He ran a steady, heavy hand over her stomach, her breasts, her hair, her face. She could feel his fingers curl around the corner of the piece of tape covering her mouth. He ripped it off, causing her skin to burn. She screamed louder and longer than before.

He simply watched her, smiling an evil grin, "Scream all you want Jennifer. No one can hear you. As for me…I love it."

He used the knife that had been used to kill the woman on the table to cut the remaining clothes from JJ's body, leaving her completely exposed to him. She had seen so many pictures, talked to so many women who had been victimized. She had never imagined herself in that position. She thought about her family at the BAU.

Would they find her? Would they save her in time? Would she ever feel normal again? Would she be able to forgive herself for not being able to save that woman?

He grunted as he forced himself inside her. JJ sobbed willingly. His thrusting motions tore at JJ's insides. Her cries of agony fell on deaf ears. She thought of the one person who would hold her through it, if she survived.

Her best friend, her confidante, Emily. She was always strong, always comforting, always with the right thing to say. JJ tried to compartmentalize what was happening to her. She tried to shut down but his grunts, the pain, the dead body on the table, they all held her violently in place.

"Jennifer," he spoke as he continued to force himself into her, "You are always going to be mine. You are my partner, my lover, my accomplice."

JJ fought the thoughts he was planting deeply into her soul. She felt the blame piling into her conscience. She felt the blame raping her soul, as he raped her body. As he climaxed, JJ withdrew from the world.

He stood over her trembling abused body. Bruises and cuts were apparent everywhere. Her thighs had traces of blood. Her eyes were open but stared lifelessly at the ceiling. He had broken her. He had caused the annihilation of Jennifer Jareau.


	3. Broken

3

Broken

Emily's body ached from the cold seeping into her bones. Her feet throbbed from the nine and a half miles she had hiked uphill in the dark. She felt little comfort that Derek Morgan was walking the grid with her. She knew that he was still angry with JJ and her for lying. Emily didn't care. It all seemed so trivial.

Emily's flashed light cast its beam upon Derek's face and back to the ground again. In that brief moment, Emily could see the exhaustion in his face; the same wretched exhaustion that was creeping into all of their bones. After all, they had been hiking in the cold dark for hours on end. It was treacherous ground. Yet, no matter how many briars reached out for Emily's cheeks, she knew that their exhaustion, fear, and pain would be incomparable to the terror JJ could be feeling.

"Em, do you think she's here," Derek had stopped and leaned his back against a tree.

Emily shook her head, "No way to know unless we keep going."

Derek didn't move, "We need to talk."

Emily sighed, her breath making fog in the air around her, "Do you really think this is the time, Derek?"

Derek frowned, "No. But we still need to talk. Not just about the faked death, but about JJ, and after all this…"

Emily knew where Derek's thoughts were heading. Her stomach lurched as she let herself think about the things JJ could be going through. She swallowed the knot in her throat and looked back at Derek.

"We'll be there. We'll be there for her, for each other. I know that having to lie to you and the rest of the team…I know it was a bad choice, but it was a necessary one. I might be dead for real right now had we not done what we did. JJ…she was instrumental in my survival, and because of that, and because of who she is, her heart, her goodness, I will be there to make sure she survives. We all will. Sooner or later you'll all forgive us, but until you do, then maybe you should put it aside so that JJ doesn't have to carry that burden. She'll have enough to deal with."

Derek nodded his head slightly, "Some of us have already forgiven, Em. And now, with JJ…it just all seems ridiculous. We got to get her back."

"We will," Emily stated with conviction as once again she lit the ground in front of her and continued to walk.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The pain in her heart was equally unbearable to the pain in her body. JJ tried hard not to let another tear slip down her dirt-smeared cheek. She shivered again as the coldness covered her. She could feel the cold dirt beneath her bare skin. She was still naked, still bleeding and inconceivably afraid.

He raped her twice more in the two hours that followed the first time. Each occurrence more devastating and tortuous than the last. He eventually grew bored and dragged her screaming out the door of the cabin.

Ten feet from the cabin he removed leaves and sticks from a covered pit in the ground and threw JJ into it. She could see his face in the moonlight and knew she would never forget the evil blackness in his eyes.

She could smell the earth surrounding her and suddenly found it hard to breath. She knew from the cases they had worked on how quickly and easily hypothermia could set in. She was in so much pain she welcomed the numbness the cold brought with it.

She hadn't heard him in over an hour. She heard him as he dragged the dead girl's body from the shack. She heard a motor of some sort, possibly a four-wheeler. She knew he had left but it didn't stop the fear.

She found herself singing softly. The words of an old lullaby soothed her as she pictured Henry in her head, and her friends at the BAU. Her family. The thoughts helped to block out the darkness, the closed-in feeling, and the thoughts of complete shame and guilt.

As the thoughts of her friends and family were beginning to calm her, the living nightmare that had just occurred ripped through the short-lived security. JJ began to hyperventilate. Her body shook violently from the cold air and the dank hole in the ground. Her fear of the things that had already happened to her was only surpassed by the terror incited by the sounds of walking coming from a short distance away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Team 1, Team 3 this is Team 2, we've located a cabin of some sort. Coordinates on GPS."

Emily looked down at her handheld device and located the position of Reid and the two rangers accompanying him. She looked wide-eyed Derek, "They're less than half a mile from here."

Derek didn't hesitate to run in the direction Emily indicated. Emily was on his heels. The idea of Spencer Reid and two strangers being the first ones to come into contact with a possibly traumatized JJ disturbed Emily almost as much as JJ being kidnapped in the first place.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

She listened for another twenty minutes in complete silence. She thought she heard her name called out more than once, but she couldn't be sure it wasn't the unsub back to finish her off. The violent shivers coursing through her body made her teeth ache. She could barely feel her fingers, but the pain deep within her body was not ignorable.

She was ready to give up. She was ready to lose herself in the icy coldness. And then she heard the familiar sound of safety. True safety.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Emily walked the perimeter of the shack, too disturbed by the stains and smells on the inside of the unsub's lair. In her heart she knew that JJ was still alive. She knew that she was close.

"JJ!" Emily called out, her emotions catching in her throat. "JJ! Please! Where are you?"

Emily remained quiet and listened intently to the atmosphere around her. She could hear the crime scene techs working inside the shack. She could hear the shuffle of her teammates feet in the leaves around the cabin. She closed her eyes and listened harder.

That's when she heard it. A faint whimper muffled with fear. Emily opened her eyes and walked through some underbrush close to the shack.

"JJ…I think I hear you sweetheart. Please call out."

Emily's voice was much calmer than her racing heart. She listened again and this time a strangled cry, a sob, reached her ears from somewhere beneath her. She began feeling the ground with her boot and after several minutes she heard a clunk.

She quickly dropped to her knees and found herself on a locked iron door. She called out to her team and felt a surge of energy.

"JJ. We're coming. We're going to bust this thing open and get you out of there. Can you hear me?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

JJ felt somewhat warmed by Emily's voice. She tried to call out, but couldn't open her mouth. She was suddenly very aware of her nakedness, her vulnerability. She found the words she wanted to say.

Her voice was raspy, unsure, her body shaking, "Just you. Not them."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Emily's heart sank with JJ's words. She knew immediately that JJ had been hurt.

"I need a blanket. Hotch," Emily addressed her supervisor, "When that lock is cut and that door open I need to do this alone. I need to get to her without any eyes on us, do you understand."

Hotch knew enough about victimology to know that if JJ only wanted help from Emily then they would honor that request. He nodded to Emily and backed Spencer, Derek and Rossi away. The lock was cut with no issues and the door lifted.

Emily suppressed the gasp that wanted to escape her mouth. She was glad to see JJ, but was horrified by the things she could see in the beam of her flashlight. She swallowed her own fears and slid down into the hole. She approached JJ slowly, noting the blue coloring of her friend's normally pink lips.

She hated to see JJ naked and bruised, bleeding, and crying. She knelt down in the dirt next to her friend and was relieved to see the recognition in the blonde's eyes.

"Hey sweetie. Listen, I'm going to put this blanket around you. Okay?"

JJ allowed her to place the blanket around her, feeling glad that it was a large enough blanket to cover her entire body. She looked into Emily's eyes and let the tears fall freely.

Emily looked into the beautiful blue eyes of Jennifer Jareau. She felt immense sadness for the trauma her friend might have suffered. She wrapped her arms around JJ and held her tightly. The younger woman let herself be comforted.

Emily stroked JJ's hair in a soothing manner, "We need to get you out of here. Will you let me help you? Can one of our team help me get you out?"

JJ shook her head, "No."

Her voice was so small. Emily's heart broke. She let go of JJ briefly and looked out of the hole at the paramedics standing by. She knelt back down, "What about a couple of paramedics?"

JJ nodded. She knew she had to get out of the woods. Before she could even try to stand up, she could feel her heart flip flop in her chest. She looked up at Emily and before she could reach out a hand, she blacked out.


	4. Fighting to Survive

4

Fighting to Survive

Emily gasped as the paramedics began to work on JJ in the lifesaver helicopter. It was the fastest way to get JJ to the hospital considering the ten mile hike it took to get to her in the first place. Hotch had allowed Emily to go with JJ, knowing the blonde might need a friendly face.

Emily was beginning to regret the decision. The medics had removed the blanket from JJ briefly to get a warming blanket on her. In that brief moment, Emily saw more of JJ's injuries. She couldn't tell what the various marks were from. Some looked like burns, some like bites. Emily swallowed the bile that had risen in her mouth. JJ was screaming out. She was fighting the medics. Emily knew she was fighting off whatever attacker was in her memory.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lights faded in and out, somewhere very close there were the sounds of sirens. She could hear Emily's voice begging her to hang on. In the midst of chaos, JJ found no solace. Her body burned in all the places the unsub's touch had invaded her. Her ears rang with the wicked words he whispered. Her eyes, when open, confused kind faces with that of a monster.

She could hear different sounds. She tried to stay in the present listening to various sounds from machines. She heard something about hypothermia. JJ felt terrified with all the different hands on her body and yet relieved when she felt something warm crawl up the vein of her arm.

Through tearful eyes she looked up and saw Emily's saddened expression peering back at her. And with that she was out again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Penelope Garcia was the first to approach Emily as she came out of the ER exam room.

"What's going on?" Garcia asked, her fear evident in her tone.

Emily sat down in a plastic chair in the hall twenty feet from JJ's room. She sighed and rubbed her shaky hands across her face. She gratefully accepted the cup of coffee Garcia handed her. It was their first real contact since she had come back from the dead.

Emily looked up into worried eyes. In her peripheral she could see the rest of the team approaching. Garcia saw them as well and waited as patiently as possible for them to all gather so Emily wouldn't have to repeat anything.

Emily exhaled slowly and looked up at the team, "She's okay. She's stable. Hypothermia was setting in but we got to her in time. She's had some blood loss and…"

Derek placed a gentle hand on Emily's shoulder. He had seen the panic-stricken look on the brunette's face when they had pulled JJ out of the hole in the ground. His voice was calm, "Take your time."

Emily thought about the distant look in JJ's eyes as she had succumbed to the drugs the ER doctor had given her. She had been back there, in that cabin. The fear, the loss…Emily had never seen anything so heartbreaking.

"She's…she's going to need…" Emily suppressed the sob she could feel rising in her throat. "She's going to need time. And…someone to…"

"Whatever she needs, we'll get it for her," Hotch promised.

The only one to not verbally agree was Reid. Emily studied him intently and couldn't read what was on his face. She shook her head and allowed Penelope to hold her hand. The comfort felt good, and yet she felt guilty knowing that JJ would probably not feel comfortable for a long time.

She stood to pace when the doctor approached, "Are you Jennifer's family?"

Emily nodded, "We're her…yes. We're family."

Hotch interrupted and shook the doctor's hand, "I'm Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner. Agent Jareau is a vital part of my team and we're the only family she has. Is she going to be okay."

The doctor understood protocol, theirs and his and chose to ignore his, "Ms. Jareau is lucky you found her when you did. Hypothermia was setting in and her body temperature was already several degrees too low. We've had to stitch up several cuts including her right shoulder, the palm of her left hands, and a rather deep gash under her…"

He paused not really sure he should be divulging any of this information to them. Urged on by Emily's gaze he sighed, "A deep gash under her right breast."

Hotch didn't want to picture their JJ in dire straits, so he continued to look at this as a case, merely a case, "Were there any bite marks and if so were there any dental impressions made from them?"

The doctor nodded, "There were some imprints on her body, but we haven't done any exams or impressions yet. We thought we'd let Ms. Jareau…"

Hotch hated to have to do this but time was of the essence, "As soon as JJ is awake, we need this evidence. Understood?"

The doctor felt compelled to argue on behalf of his patient, "Sir I don't think you understand the trauma…"

"And you don't understand that we have a case to solve and now that he's attacked my agent, I'm more ready than ever to get this son of a bitch. I think JJ would agree."

Emily and Garcia were looking at Hotch with disdain. It was Garcia who stood up and spoke freely, "Sir, you can't possibly think that JJ would want to be invaded all over again just because you said so."

Hotch blushed and nodded, "I understand you want to protect JJ right now, Garcia, but we need to find this unsub before he hurts another woman, or worse, comes after JJ again."

He pulled Morgan, Reid and Rossi away from Emily and Garcia, "You three come with me. And you, Emily and Garcia, stay here with JJ. When she wakes, you make sure the evidence is taken."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_JJ__could__see__the__object__in__his__hand.__She__could__tell__by__the__sadistic__look__on__his__face__exactly__what__he__intended__to__do__with__it.__She__pulled__against__the__restraints__on__her__wrists.__She__was__tied__to__the__bed.__Her__screams__grew__louder__with__every__step__he__took__toward__her._

Emily smoothed JJ's blonde locks down as the young woman shivered in the bed. Garcia, who had been standing by the window, wiped a few stray tears from her cheeks and moved to JJ's side as well.

"She's dreaming," Emily stated.

Penelope nodded sadly, "I don't think I want to know."

Emily couldn't hold the tears back, "Oh god, Pen…what are we going to do? I saw the things in the files. All those things he could do to her, and has done to her…how do we help her?"

Garcia placed her hands on top of Emily's and squeezed it gently, "We will listen. We will be there. And when it's too hard to hear what she went through, we'll listen anyway. We love her, and that's what friends do."

Emily laid her forehead on JJ's bed feeling the trembling of the woman lying there.

_The__pain,__she__searing__pain.__JJ__tried__to__remember__her__reasons__for__living.__She__couldn__'__t__bear__to__think__about__Henry.__The__thought__of__such__a__beautiful__innocent__child__during__such__a__disgusting__time,__it__wasn__'__t__right.__She__couldn__'__t__think__of__anything__to__save__her.__Her__mind__kept__flashing__back__to__the__dead__girl__still__on__the__table.__Her__body__long__drained__of__her__blood.__JJ__remembered__her__hands__on__the__knife__as__it__had__slashed__into__the__woman._

_ JJ felt the cold steel against her flat stomach. She fought. She would not lose her mind. She would not lose her soul._

Emily wiped her eyes and slipped her hand back into JJ's. The blue tint from the hypothermia was replaced now with a paleness. Bruises on JJ's forehead, cheekbone, and neck were beginning to grow darker. With a glance at the clock on the wall, Emily knew they had been waiting for an hour for JJ to wake up.

The sun was shining through the window of the room. Garcia was sitting on the other side of JJ's bed with her head resting on the edge, eyes on JJ.

"She's still dreaming," Garcia spoke.

Emily shook her head, "Not dreaming. Remembering. Flashbacks."

Garcia's frown deepened. She didn't want to picture JJ alone with the monster she had read about in their files. She didn't want to know the things he had done to their JJ.

_She__wanted__to__feel__warm__again.__She__wanted__to__hear__laughter__and__chatter__in__the__background__while__she__shot__darts__at__the__bar__with__Reid.__She__wanted__to__be__at__home__reading__a__good__book__with__Henry__sleeping__safely__in__the__room__next__to__hers._

_ She wanted this monster to stop touching her, to stop making her feel pain. She wanted him to not do anything else to her that was going to leave her scarred and scared for the rest of her life. She looked around the room still desperate for an escape, hoping one had magically appeared since the last time she had looked. _

_ Then he raped her again. This time he had done so with the object he had been holding to her temple just seconds before. Despite the fear, the terror, she didn't want to die, and she knew one wrong move and she could be dead._

JJ shot up in bed, her screams startling Emily and Penelope. Emily quickly sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped her arms around JJ, not sure if that was the right thing to do or not. JJ struggled slightly against Emily, but then stopped and sank into her as though realizing she was safe again.

"Shhhh, JJ, you're safe now. We're here." Emily whispered into JJ's ear. JJ sobbed into Emily's shoulder while reaching out for Penelope's hand. The three of them sat that way for several minutes until JJ felt strong enough to pull away.

When she finally broke away from Emily and slipped her hand out of Penelope's she leaned back against her pillows. She couldn't stop shaking and knew it was from the fear. The memory.

Penelope slid off the bed and tucked stray strands of blonde hair behind JJ's ear. She noticed the dirt smears on JJ's cheek, "I'm going to get the doctor. There's some things he needs to go over with you, and maybe when all that's done they'll let you get a shower, or something."

JJ wasn't sure where to let her eyes settle so she looked at her hands on top of her covers. Penelope exited and Emily turned back to JJ.

"JJ…what…are you.." Emily didn't know what to say.

JJ's voice was soft, whispered, broken, "Em…it…I was…He raped me."

JJ broke down in sobs again and Emily pulled her close. She rubbed her back gently, not sure if there were any injuries there. She held JJ until she could breathe again. JJ didn't want to let go of Emily. The warmth there, the safety, the thought that maybe, just maybe she could survive…JJ needed that so badly.

"Hotch wants you to get the exam done as soon as possible. So we can catch this guy."

JJ stiffened against Emily, "He's still out there?"

Emily frowned, "I thought you knew. Penelope tracked down the cabin. It's how we found you."

JJ jumped as the door opened. Penelope came in followed by the doctor. He had a kind face, but JJ was still afraid. She didn't want to be touched any more. She knew she had to be examined. She knew she had to help her team catch the man responsible, but the fear was overwhelming.

She looked, wide-eyed, at Emily, "Will you stay with me?"

Emily looked at the doctor and he nodded. She turned back to JJ and held her uninjured hand, "I wouldn't think of leaving you for a second."

Penelope watched the two women, and knew that her own unwillingness to forgive had put some distance between herself and the two women. She regretted it and knew she would do whatever it took to make up for it.

The doctor excused himself to go get a nurse and a wheelchair.

"Emily," JJ's voice was still soft, unsteady, "You'll know…you'll hear, during the exam…"

"I can handle whatever I have to, JJ to be there for you."

JJ didn't bother to wipe the tears that fell on her bruised cheek. She breathed steadily and refused to think about the unsub out there, getting ready to snatch another victim.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He sat in the parking lot his hands gripping the wheel tightly. He looked up at the hospital his teeth grinding together in anger. She was somewhere inside. Somewhere, protected by armed guards. He could still smell her scent on his skin. He knew he would never, could never, stop. Not until he was finished with Jennifer Jareau.


	5. Everything Burns

Authors Note: Yeah I know it's been forever. I'm very sorry. However, I'm TRYING to get back to writing daily and I have a lot to catch up on. I definitely want to see this story through, so I'll try to write more often. I won't promise you when the next chapter will be up, but I can say that it won't take another year to get it done. So to anyone still reading this...thank you. VERY MUCH! Also, I have no idea how long this is, or short. I'm writing it on my iPad, and there's no page count...sooooooo...

5

Everything Burns

The room around JJ was cold, but bright. Too bright for her tired eyes. There were various instruments on a steel rolling cart, and white sheets on the exam table beneath her. She tried not to focus on the doctor, or the fear, or the pain.

She tried to focus only on the warm hand wrapped tightly, but comfortably, around her uninjured hand. Embarrassment and humiliation prevented her from looking Emily in the eyes, but she knew Emily wasn't going anywhere.

Penelope Garcia was waiting patiently outside after having gone to the motel to get JJ's bag. Although they had spent the prior months barely talking to one another, she was more than grateful that the always thoughtful Penelope Garcia was there to look out for her needs. No one took care of other human beings the way Garcia did.

She knew the rest of the team was waiting for the evidence that would come from her body. She didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to remember, but she knew that if they were ever going to catch the man who perpetrated all the unspeakable things, then she would have to speak about those things.

She looked at the woman holding a pen and pad near the door of the exam room. She had been introduced to her the minute she was brought into the room via wheelchair. Her name was Agent Parker from the special procedures department there to take notes and to take JJ's statement.

JJ was glad that someone from her own team didn't have to take notes about the sickening things that had happened. She glanced at Emily who was looking back at her with nothing but concern. She hated that Emily would have to hear about it, but she needed her. JJ shifted uncomfortably on the table and winced with the sharp pain that shot through her lower half.

She had been able to stand on her own, despite aching ribs. She had been able to shimmy herself onto the table with help from Emily. Now she was sitting, waiting. The agent taking notes was waiting for the doctor to finish the exam before getting JJ's statement.

JJ laid down on the table and the doctor and nurse guided her feet into stirrups. Her body trembled with fear and anxiety. She looked up into the fluorescent lights until her eyes blurred with tears.

She wanted to block out the medical sounds around her, but every time she tried to focus her mind elsewhere, she had to fight flashes of the night. Instead she settled for simply maintaining eye contact with Emily. It gave her a hold on the present. It gave her a shelter in her storm.

The piercing pain as the doctor examined her internally was too much for JJ to handle. Despite wanting to compartmentalize like Emily, she cried out involuntarily, no longer able to contain the tears. She inhaled deeply trying to still herself against the onslaught of images and pain, but it was at a minimal efficacy.

She was embarrassed by her lack of strength but drew on Emily's to make it through the rest of the exam. She glimpsed the doctor's expression as she handed off the collected specimens to the nurse. She could see the sympathy and the disbelief on the trained professionals face.

Some of her pain subsided as she was allowed to stand again, but the embarrassment grew worse as she was asked to disrobe and stand nude on a white sheet. She wished Emily didn't have to see. She wished she didn't have to see the things that he had done to her body.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Emily's stomach turned sour as her eyes took in the many marks on JJ's skin in the bright exam room light. JJ's face was the epitome of shame and pain. Emily wanted to hold her, to reassure her that she was still JJ. She watched as JJ's body was wracked with the sobbing she held silently inside.

"I'm sorry Agent Jareau, will you please hold your hands away from your sides?" the doctor seemed sincere in her apology.

Emily was thankful that the victim's trauma team was led by a female. It was one less thing they had to worry about. She took inventory of every deep red mark, every black and blue bruise and every angry pink scratch along JJ's pale body.

She swallowed the knot in her throat. Her anger was welling up at the animalistic way JJ had obviously been treated. She had seen many victims in her career but none had ever affected her emotionally...not the way JJ did.

She noticed several strange bloody markings along JJ's back, "What are those?"

She had directed the question to the doctor, who looked at her with no answers. Emily was surprised when JJ's voice, cold and quiet, answered her.

"Belt buckle."

It took a few seconds for JJ's answer to register in Emily's mind. She stared at the marks as it dawned on her what the markings were, "JJ, did the unsub, did he speak in a familiar way?"

Emily knew she sounded more like an agent than a friend, but any clue found would be one step closer to keeping JJ safe.

"He spoke like he had been stalking me. He knew things about me...things no one should know." JJ's voice was hoarse, timid.

Emily tucked that piece of information away and continued, "What about the way he spoke? Did he sound, I don't know...military?"

Emily watched as JJ shook noticeably. The doctor continued to collect evidence from her unclothed body as JJ thought about the words the man had used. She nodded slowly, "He had a very military tone. Hard core."

Emily nodded. She pointed at JJ's back for the doctor to snap a picture of the imprint left in JJ's skin from the belt buckle. It wasn't a perfect impression, but there in the soft flesh of her best friend's skin was the image of the spread-winged eagle standing on top of the world. Emily knew the symbol. Marines Force Recon team.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_The metal seared against her back as he struck her forcefully with his belt. JJ tried to stop screaming, but the involuntary reaction was uncontrollable. He struck her again, this time cracking a small rib. Her breath left her body in a rush, and she found it hard to suck it back in. She was losing consciousness from pain._

_The things he had already done to her were too much for even the hardest hearted person to handle, but JJ was soft. She was humane. JJ was the girl who smiled a lot and meant it. However, with each strike of his belt, or hand, with each touch of his gun, or cigarette, JJ wondered if she would ever smile again. _

She felt the doctor combing through her hair for evidence. JJ knew that no matter how many specimens they found, it would never be enough to get him. He would have to die, or she would.

She managed to glance up at Emily who was now standing in front of her. She was moved by the emotions she could see in the normally glacial expression of the brunette. JJ tried to steady her breathing and gain control of her own emotions. She was letting the too new memory of being tortured and assaulted reign over her FBI training. She knew there would be time for feelings. There would be time to heal. There would be time to scream, cry, and be held. But until that time was right, Jennifer Jareau knew she would have to shut it all down. She knew she would have to let JJ escape for a while, and let Agent Jareau take over.

She exhaled slowly, setting free a breath she didn't know she had been holding, "He was 6 feet 2 inches. He had..."

She paused as Emily looked at her. After gathering up her courage, she continued, "He had dark hair, buzz-cut, maybe a 2 or 3 length on the razor."

The agent taking notes looked at JJ, and JJ noticed the questioning look. She was surprised when Emily answered the unspoken question for her, "She cuts her sons hair."

The agent wrote down the information and JJ continued, "His teeth were straight, as you can probably tell by the bite marks. He had no beard, no mustache. His eyes were dark. Brown. Dark brown. He was tanned, and very muscular. He wore a t-shirt, jeans, a belt. He wore black boots. Combat style."

_The feel of the knife blade slicing through her left palm only served to make the already broken left hand to feel again. The hand that had been broken when he forced her to stab the unknown woman._

JJ looked at her heavily bandaged left hand, "He had a knife, serrated blade. Ka-Bar."

JJ looked at Emily again, encouraged by her gaze. "He also had a gun. It was a Berretta 9mm. He used it to..."

She didn't want her voice to falter so badly. She didn't want to have to speak aloud the things he had done, but she knew she had to. Through tears and quivering lips she spoke, "He used it to rape me the second time."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Penelope Garcia was on the phone again, this time making sure that Henry's babysitter knew that it could be an extra day. She had been making all kinds of phone calls to try to make things easier for JJ when they all got home. Somewhere in her heart, she knew it was a useless activity because she knew that things wouldn't be easy for JJ for a long time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He sat still, contemplating his next move. He knew he could move quickly. She wasn't that heavily guarded. He mulled over his possible scenarios and decided that patience was truly the best virtue. He pulled out of the parking lot of the hospital. He knew he could bide his time in other ways, with other girls, but he also knew that none of them would ever be her. He knew he would eventually have to complete his time with her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hotch ended the call on his cell phone and turned to face Reid, Morgan and Rossi, "That was Prentiss. Looks like we may be looking for special forces. Marines."

"So JJ was able to give details?" Spencer Reid asked surprised by the information.

Hotch nodded, "Apparently she was pretty stoic, considering."

"How bad, Hotch?" Morgan asked.

Hotch shrugged as he looked down at the cell phone in his hands, "Prentiss didn't say. She just said the evidence had been taken and that based on JJ's statement our unsub is definitely military."

Rossi frowned thinking about the petite blonde, "God help her through this."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Emily stuffed the cell phone back into her pocket and turned to look at JJ as the doctor was finishing her exam and evidence collection. JJ looked so tired, so alone. She kept glancing at the red duffel bag sitting by the door. Emily was so glad Penelope had thought of bringing JJ's things.

The doctor and nurse nodded to Emily. Emily thanked them and watched as they followed the agent who had been taking JJ's statement out the door. Emily realized that she and JJ were alone and that JJ seemed a million miles away. She was still standing in the middle of the room, a thin hospital sheet wrapped around her otherwise naked frame.

Emily saw that JJ was trying to be strong, but was on the verge of a breakdown. JJ moved toward her bag and bent down to pick it up. Emily could see the pain etched on her face as she made the motion. She quickly rushed to JJ's side and gently took the bag from JJ's hand.

"Let me help you with this."

JJ nodded slightly, "Thank you."

Emily retrieved JJ's underwear and bra from the bag, and then pulled out a thick sweatshirt and sweatpants. JJ was looking at her bra and thinking about the cuts and bites on her body, "I don't think I can wear that..."

Emily fought back the tears that threatened to spill, "It's okay. No one will notice."

She could see hesitation running through JJ's eyes. Emily finally realized that she was hovering, "Do you want me to give you some privacy?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

JJ wasn't sure if she wanted privacy or not. She certainly didn't want to be left alone. She felt the panic rising as she looked from the door back to Emily. She was thankful when Emily seemed to read her thoughts.

"How about I just pull the curtain and sit in the chair right there," she asked.

JJ nodded finding some relief in that. Once the curtain was closed she let the sheet fall to the floor. The cool hospital air wrapped around her shivering body. She knew she was forever changed. She thought about Henry. She would be strong for him. He needed her.

She found the pain coursing through her body immensely upsetting as she slipped on her underwear and sweatpants, and then slowly slid the sweatshirt over her head. She didn't care that she was crying. She didn't care that Emily was hearing every sob. She just wanted to feel something other than pain or fear.


	6. Ride

6

Ride

Tick tock, tick tock. The sound from the clock above the door was driving JJ crazier than she already felt. She and Garcia were waiting for the doctor to come back with her release forms. Emily had gone to pull the car to the curb just outside the front of the building. The rest of the team were escorting all the evidence back to Quantico and following up on possible leads.

JJ's teeth clenched tighter together as the tick tock of the clock made her realize how much she hated quietness. She was about to start some small talk with Garcia when Garcia suprised her by suddenly standing up, platform shoe in hand.

JJ watched in stunned silence as she moved a chair under the door, stood on it and then slammed her shoe into the clock. One hit was not enough to make it stop its incessant ticking. JJ was about to tell her to stop, but there was something comical about the whole thing. Garcia took another whack at the clock and it stopped.

"1:52pm," Garcia smiled triumphantly as she hopped down from the chair and returned her shoe to her foot.

JJ's bemusement was lost as she realized that it had now been over twelve hours since she had been taken and tortured. Before the tears could spill over, the door was opening. Emily came in followed by the doctor who had first treated JJ.

"Agent Jareau," the doctor nodded toward her, avoiding eye contact.

JJ could feel the tight bruising on her face. She knew how awful she must look. And she knew that the file in the doctor's hand revealed the injuries and pain that weren't revealed on her face.

She was glad that she was still wearing her sweatpants and sweatshirt that she had put on that morning after the exam. They were soft, warm. They were exactly the opposite of how she felt inside. She wasn't sure if the cold she felt inside was a residual effect of hypothermia or if she was dying inside.

The doctor cleared his throat and managed to lift his eyes to meet JJ's bright blues, "We've got your paperwork squared away. Here's a list of recommendations for you as far as pain management, suggestions for rehab. And I suggest you speak to a professional."

JJ couldn't stop the facetious chortle that escaped from her mouth. The doctor's cheeks reddened as he realized how ludicrous the standard advice was. JJ was relieved when Emily stepped in, "Thanks doc. I think we've got it from here."

JJ, although drowning in shame and fear, felt entertained as the doctor, about to exit the room, looked up at the wall above the door and then at Garcia. Garcia shrugged and the doctor shook his head. After he left, Emily glanced at the clock and looked at the two women.

Garcia looked innocently at her co-worker, "What?"

Emily began to gather JJ's things, "Let's get out of here."

JJ was quiet as Emily and Penelope helped her off the bed. The pain was so constant that she was almost to the point of getting used to it. She slipped her feet into her unlaced tennis shoes and Emily stooped down to tie them. The gesture brought out a whole sense of helplessness for JJ and she almost resented the motion. Fortunately she knew how much Emily cared about her, and that her friend only wanted to help her.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Once they were in the car and on the road, Emily decided to fill JJ in on what the rest of the team was trying to accomplish, "So Hotch thinks the unsub may have been dishonorably discharged from the Marines. It's going to make it easier to track him down. Once we get a name and some public records, then we'll be closer to getting him.

Emily glanced over at JJ in the passenger seat. JJ was uncomfortable as she shifted slightly in the seat. Emily couldn't imagine the different kinds of pain JJ's small frame must be in. She thought back to that morning and the cold, hard look in JJ's eyes as she had recounted some, but not all, details of the night. Emily's chest felt tight with the heartache she felt for the blonde. She wondered if JJ had told them the worst of it. She wondered what details had been left unspoken. Perhaps unable to be spoken.

She thought about the gun JJ had mentioned. She thought about the knife that had sliced her sweet friend's skin. She knew that if it affected her as much as it did, then it must be tearing JJ apart inside.

JJ's voice was soft and raspy, "They won't find him before he finds me again."

It was Penelope who spoke this time, her tone was strong, optimistic, "He won't get to you, JJ."

"Lightning can strike twice," JJ stated matter-of-factly.

Emily cast a sideways glance at JJ again. Emily bit her bottom lip in thought as she steered the car toward the airport. She knew JJ wasn't wrong. It's not like her kidnapping and rape were random. How long had he been watching JJ. Could it be someone they had seen before, someone familiar? Someone they knew, but didn't know at all.

"JJ, how did this case come our way?" Emily asked fishing for clues.

JJ shook her head, "The usual way, why?"

Emily shrugged, "I don't know. I was just thinking that...well, if he was stalking you before this. Maybe, well...maybe it was all a setup."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"A setup?" JJ asked, searching Emily's face for meaning.

Emily nodded, "Yeah, I mean, what if all of the killings were to bait you here?"

JJ couldn't stand the thought that all those girls might have died because she was the endgame. She prayed Emily wasn't right. She thought about the phone call she had made when the file had come across her desk. The police hadn't asked for their help, she had offered it.

She licked her dry lips, "They didn't ask for us. The file came across my desk. I called the sheriff. I told them who we were and he then said they could use all the help they could get."

Emily paled, "Do you remember the file? Do you remember anything about the package it had come in."

JJ shook her head, "No, no. I don't know. It's still in my office I'm sure."

Penelope chimed in front the backseat, "I'll call Morgan."

JJ couldn't stop the tears from spilling over. Being strong when she was a victim was easy, but being strong while believing she was responsible for all those girls, that was another story.

Emily slipped her hand into JJ's across the console. She gave the trembling girl a comforting nod, and squeezed her hand gently, "This isn't your fault, Jayje. Do you understand me?"

JJ wanted to believe Emily, but all she could think of was all the pain she had caused her teammates in the last year. Everywhere she went, pain was sure to follow.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The hardwoods were clean. The beds were all made. He slid a finger across the top of a silver frame. No dust. The picture was of Jennifer and Agent Prentiss with the kooky girl in glasses. They were all smiling so beautifully. But none more so than his Jennifer.

He walked around the house making sure to touch everything of hers he could. He stood in her bedroom. He flipped through the pages of the book laying on her nightstand. He picked up her button-up night shirt and inhaled her scent on the collar.

He would wait for her. He would wait, patiently. Sooner or later, she would come home. Home to him.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

JJ slept restlessly on the plane. She had fallen asleep mere minutes after takeoff. Penelope and Emily sat across the aisle from her at a table.

"How are you holding up," Penelope asked Emily.

Emily was surprised to hear the true concern in Garcia's voice, "Me? I'm fine. It's JJ that's..."

Garcia shook her head, "I know JJ's got a lot to deal with, but you've been with her from the time you found her in that hole to right now. You've heard a lot of the horrible details and I just want to make sure that you have someone too."

Emily gave Garcia a half-hearted smile, "I'm okay."

She paused, her lips falling into a frown, "The things he did to her, Pen..."

Penelope nodded her face filled with sadness, "I've read the report. I didn't want her to have to tell me, but I needed to know. I needed to know so I would know how to help her. So I would know the right things to say."

Emily patted Garcia's hand reassuringly, "I understand."

Garcia looked at JJ. She took in the pale skin, the bruised wrist, the wrist in a cast. Her normally happy face, etched with the terror she must be seeing in her nightmare. Penelope wanted to wake her up. She wanted to hold her and never let her go. She wanted to protect her like the sister she never had.

She turned instead to Emily, "Henry's with a sitter for another day and then Hotch's sister-in-law is going to watch over him until JJ feels ready to…"

Emily frowned, "I know. It seems impossible that she'll ever resume life as she knew it, but she will. She will for Henry."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_ JJ didn't want to feel him anymore. She was bleeding and in more pain than she could ever remember being in. Her bare back was aching against the wooden floor. Her breathing was shallow. Her heart pounded in her skull. She wanted to disappear. She wanted to close her eyes and leave herself forever. But each time she closed her eyes, she was made more aware of the horrible things he was doing to her. _

_ She opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of a cigarette. She felt it burning into her flesh. She screamed. She had really never stopped screaming. Only when she had passed out from fear, or pain, had she stopped. _

_ His hands were like vise grips on her hips as he bore into her. His grunts and shudders were animalistic as he clawed his way through JJ's soul. She could feel too much. She was too aware. _

JJ woke up as a scream escaped her mouth. She sat straight up in the chair calling for Emily just as the plane touched down on the tarmac. Before she could get the name out of her mouth, her brunette friend was there with her arms wrapped around her.

"Shhhh, Jay, you're safe," Emily's voice was strong and safe. It was comforting and calming.

JJ didn't want to tremble the way she did. She didn't want to be so scared. But as the plane pulled to a stop, she noticed the sun was going down and night would join them all too quickly. She thought about Henry and how he was afraid of the dark.

"Henry?" JJ asked softly.

Penelope rubbed JJ's arm gently, "He's okay. He's safe with the sitter at her house. Tomorrow morning she's going to drive him to Hotch's so that his sister-in-law can take care of him."

JJ liked her. She knew she would take excellent care of Henry. She touched her bruised eye, "I can't let him see me this way."

"Then he won't," Emily promised. "The bruises will start to fade in a few days and then makeup can hide the rest."

JJ nodded and stood slowly as the light came on to open the hatch. The stairs were in place. Penelope and Emily stood on both sides of JJ making it steady enough for her to make her way down the stairs. JJ was glad to see that the BAU had a car waiting for them.

Rossi stepped out from the driver's side of the car. It was the first time since before she was taken that she had seen one of the men from her team. She thought she would be nervous, even terrified, to be approached by a man, but the sight of Rossi brought a sense of security. He neither smiled, nor frowned at JJ. He simply held his arms out and she found herself perfectly comfortable letting him hug her reassuringly.

She was the first to pull away from the embrace. Despite feeling safe with Rossi, like a daughter would with a father, JJ felt claustrophobic in his strong arms.

"I'm glad you're home, JJ."

JJ felt like it had been weeks since the woods, and not just the hours that it had been. She exhaled slowly and let Emily guide her to the backseat of the car. Once they were all buckled in, Rossi spoke.

"We're not taking you home, yet, JJ."

"Where is she going," Emily asked cautiously.

Rossie adjusted the rearview mirror so he could see the two women in the backseat. He could feel Garcia's eyes staring at him.

"The higher-ups have been informed of the situation. They know that JJ could still be in danger, so a safe house has been approved."

JJ thought about Henry, "Is my son safe?"

Rossi made a left hand turn, "He is perfectly safe. We have our people watching him night and day. We have no reason to think that he would attempt to harm Henry. His only interest is…"

Rossi stopped talking and JJ knew what he was going to say. She knew she was the unsub's only interest. She felt so tired. She leaned her head on Emily's shoulder. She wanted to close her eyes, but every time she did she could see him. His eyes staring into hers. She shivered against the memory of everything he did to invade her body, mind and soul.

Suddenly JJ was worried. She didn't want to be left alone with strangers guarding her, "Will I be alone?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Rossi's heart broke at the whispered, broken tone of JJ's voice, "We've arranged for Emily to stay with you, if that's okay."

He could see the relief wash over JJ's face in the mirror and the agreement in Emily's expression, "We need you back at the BAU ASAP Penelope. Thanks to JJ's statement and information we have a lot we can go on, and no one can find their way through government computer muck faster or more quietly than you."

Garcia nodded and looked out into the darkness beyond the SVU, "Anything to catch this bastard.


	7. Shelter

7

Shelter

Emily felt the cold touch of JJ's hand. She looked at her friend's tired eyes and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. She felt JJ lean her head on her shoulder and felt the younger woman shudder. Emily wondered briefly what memory JJ was trying to not have. She glanced down at the cast on JJ's left wrist and felt anger surge through her. She calmed her emotions and continued to gently hold her friend's hand.

Emily watched as the trees lining the road whizzed by. They were about thirty miles outside of Quantico. Penelope had reluctantly said goodbye when Rossi dropped her off at the BAU offices. Emily promised Garcia that she would take good care of JJ. Garcia promised to join them as soon as possible. Emily hoped that was true. She knew that Penelope's maternal instincts would help them both.

She glanced at Rossi in the rearview mirror and thought about how insane things had been in the previous year. She thought about her faked death and knew why her teammates had been so angry with her and JJ. She knew because they had almost lost JJ and if they had, Emily knew she would never recover.

Rossi stopped the car and Emily hesitantly released her friend's hand and got out. She turned to JJ, who had been very quiet. Emily helped her slide out of the backseat with some effort. Emily could see the pain etched on her pale face. She linked her arm with JJ's taking care not to jostle her injured body too badly. JJ's body trembled against her and Emily could sense the hundreds of fearful thoughts rampantly taking over the younger woman's mind.

Emily looked to see where they had stopped. The safe house was a large white farm house with split rail fencing around its perimeter. It set back from the road at least 300 yards. There were three cars in the driveway. Emily took mental notes of the makes and models of the cars. She could see an agent walking around the house on guard.

They entered the house and walked into an inviting living room with a fire burning in the fireplace. JJ sat in an oversize chair in an interior corner away from the windows. She slipped off her tennis shoes and hugged her knees to her chest. Emily could see the darkness in JJ's blue eyes. She wondered momentarily how long it would take for that darkness to fade.

JJ remained quiet as Rossi brought in their bags. Emily looked at him with surprise as she had not once thought about needing her things. He smiled gently, "Don't look at me. Believe it or not Chief Strauss got your things together. She may be balls to the wall any other time, but when it comes to her agents needing her…she cares."

Rossi walked to JJ and spoke with her briefly. Emily watched as JJ wiped a tear quickly from her cheek. She knew her friend was trying hard to be stoic. Rossi before made his way to the door. He turned back one last time and winked at Emily, "We'll make it safe again."

Emily locked the door behind Rossi as he left. Even knowing there were two guards outside walking the perimeter of the house, and one guard stationed in the kitchen didn't make Emily any more reassured. The two guards outside were male and the one assigned to the inside of the house was female. They had just come on duty and would be awake on watch all night.

As Emily looked at JJ, she knew she wouldn't be able to leave her by herself. Emily thought about the previous 24 hours. She noticed the tremble in JJ's body and walked toward her.

"Why don't we go up to your room and get you in a hot shower," Emily suggested gently.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

JJ glanced at Emily and nodded. The idea of washing away as much as she could of the night before sounded like the best idea she had ever heard. Emily picked up JJ's bag in one hand and then JJ allowed her hand to slip into Emily's. She let herself be led up the stairs. When they reached the top of the stairs, JJ and Emily both surveyed their surroundings. It was habit as much as it was self-preservation to always know the structures around them.

To the left of the stairs there were three rooms, two bedrooms and a large bathroom. To the right of the stairs there were two bedrooms; one of them was the master bedroom with full bath. JJ let Emily lead her into the large master bedroom.

JJ sat on the end of the bed with some discomfort. She watched as Emily gathered towels and pulled some of JJ's clothes from her bag. JJ could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She wasn't sure if the adrenaline from the nightmares and flashbacks and events would ever subside. She tried not to think of his face, his eyes. Instead she focused on what Emily was doing.

Emily helped her stand from the bed, "Can you handle it from here, or do you need my help?"

JJ felt embarrassed as she realized that although she could physically handle undressing herself with much pain, she could not mentally handle being alone. She struggled to find her voice and when she did it was soft, fading into the fear that gripped her.

"If you could…" JJ tried to speak, the tears forcing their way onto the bruised skin of her beautiful face. She bit her lip in an effort to control her emotions.

Emily frowned, "Whatever you need me to do, JJ."

"Don't leave me alone, please."

Emily shook her head and wiped a tear from JJ's cheek, "I promise sweet girl. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

JJ stepped toward the bathroom. She was relieved by the very bright lights in the bathroom and the bedroom. She looked back at Emily for encouragement and saw the pain in her friend's eyes. She knew Emily was heartbroken for her. She knew her friend was going to be a source of support and healing. She nodded slightly, and her voice cracked with the tears as she spoke, "Will you be here when I get out of the shower?"

"Right here," Emily reassured her again.

JJ closed the door behind her. She shook as she shed her clothing. The sweatpants and sweatshirt took some effort to get off but she managed despite the cast on her wrist and the pain running through her whole body. She stood in her underwear in front of the large mirror. What she saw looking back at her was shocking, terrifying. She had not seen the damage for herself. Bite marks, bruises, cuts, scratches adorned her body; a madman's trophy.

She knew she wasn't supposed to get her cast wet but she didn't care. She turned the water on in the shower and after a few minutes, when steam rose from it, she got in. The searing water burned the stitches she had received on her shoulder, on her hand, and under her breast. She thought of every mark on her body each one screaming for her attention. She ignored the pain, ignored the stories her body wanted to tell.

The only thing her mind could comprehend was the image of the dead girl suddenly standing beside her in the shower. The girl he had killed. The girl he had made her kill. JJ knew the girl was a hallucination. She sank to the floor of the shower. The hot water covering every inch of her as it sprayed downward. She tried to hold back her sobs, but as she watched the clear water on the white porcelain tub turn to a murky pink from the blood it was washing away, she could not hold it in any longer.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Emily sat on the floor outside of the closed bathroom door. She wanted to bust in and rescue JJ from her pain, but she wasn't sure if she should. She wasn't sure if JJ needed to cry or needed her to help.

She slipped her iPhone out of her pocket and began to type.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Penelope wiped the exhaustion and tears from her eyes and took a deep breath. She had been pouring over the growing case file on JJ's abduction and subsequent rape. She had a digital copy of JJ's medical report and the pictures that went along with it. It was pulled up on one of her many screens. Her troll dolls and sparkly knick-knacks seemed so out of place among the pictures of a wrecked Jennifer Jareau.

As she tried to figure out a place to start from, her mind kept wandering to the picture of JJ with her arms away from her sides. She was standing, with no clothes on, and a look of forced stoicism on her face. But Penelope could see the fear, the shame in her sweet friend's eyes. She could see the truth there. Her JJ, the one she knew and loved, the one she had been distant from because of everything with Emily, was no longer the JJ she had known so well. This JJ, this altered JJ had not only looked Satan in the eyes, she had been severely abused by him.

Penelope was startled when her cell phone beeped. She looked at it and saw she had a text message from Emily. She opened the message and read it.

"JJ in the shower. She's crying, loudly. Should I go in?"

Penelope's heart broke for both of her friends. Her thumbs flew across the onscreen keyboard, "Give her ten minutes. Then go in."

A message came back from Emily in seconds, "Okay. I'm scared for her Pen."

Penelope didn't bother to wipe her tears away as she typed back, "Me too. Just be there. It's all we can do."

Penelope glanced again at her screens. She typed again, "That and to catch this monster."

Another alert tone, "Any advancement on that?" 

Penelope shook her head even though she knew Emily couldn't see her, "Not yet. Looking over the medical reports now. And the pictures."

"He did a real number on our girl."

"Do you think she'll ever be the same again," Penelope typed, worrying about the future.

Emily pinged back, "One day at a time. That's what we have to deal with right now and the sooner we can catch him the sooner we can deal with each day."

Penelope let that sink in. An idea suddenly popped into her mind, "I'm going to get some work done here. You just do whatever you have to in order to make JJ feel safe again. Deal?"

"Deal. And good night."

Penelope laid her phone on her desk and began to type on her computer keyboard. Her fingers flew across the keys as she entered one piece of data after another. The search was on and she prayed she would find him before he could find JJ.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

JJ was still sitting in shower when the water turned ice cold. She didn't care. She wanted to spend the rest of her life safe in the water. Clean in the water. Her sobs had faded and turned into subtle shudders of tears. She was shaking from the cold and the fear.

She didn't want to be alone any more, no matter how safe the water was. As though answering a prayer, she heard the door open softly. Her heart stuttered a little with a fleeting thought that maybe he had found her, but quickly settled as she saw Emily's kind eyes peek into the room.

"JJ?" Emily called softly.

JJ didn't have the energy to answer her friend. She remained sitting, her knees drawn tightly to her chest, her forehead now on her knees. She didn't want to cry anymore, but she also couldn't stop.

She heard the door slide open, but did not react, knowing Emily was there. She felt a warm large towel being wrapped around her.

"Come on JJ. Let's get you out of here."

JJ, not for the first time in 24 hours, let herself be led by Emily out of the shower and onto the hard tile of the bathroom floor. She wanted to be herself. She wanted to be the same old JJ that could handle anything, but she knew she couldn't handle this alone.

She trembled with vulnerability as Emily gently patted her dry. She was on autopilot as she was helped into her underwear, a large long sleeve T-shirt and black yoga pants. She felt like a child, but there was no part of her that even remotely cared. She was just so tired. Too tired to physically function.

Emily sighed, "Your cast is soaked. I'm going to try to cut it off, okay?"

JJ nodded not really comprehending the words. She took comfort in the gentle way that Emily handled her. She sat on the bed. Emily sat behind her and dried her hair for her with a towel. JJ stared at the bathroom light from her place on the bed.

"I like the brightness."

She didn't mean to sound as scared as she felt.

Emily pulled a comb out of JJ's bag and ran it through JJ's wet hair. JJ could tell she was being careful not to pull too hard when she encountered a tangle. Emily's voice sounded so far away to JJ, "We'll sleep with the light on."

JJ couldn't imagine sleep and yet she felt it pulling her close. When Emily was finished with her hair, JJ laid her head on the pillow farthest from the door. She stared at Emily as her friend put her head on her own pillow.

JJ didn't bother to try to stop the tears as she whispered to her friend, "Will I ever feel safe again?"

Emily looked at her with honesty in her eyes, "I think so. I think it's going to take a while, but we're not going anywhere. None of us, not me, not Garcia, no one in the BAU. We're you're family and we're going to make sure you are protected, and that you feel how much we love you."

JJ nodded softly, her eyes growing heavy with exhaustion, her voice whispered across the inches between them, "When he was…when I was…in that place, I thought of you. You got me through it, Em. You gave me strength."

Before Emily could respond, JJ slipped into sleep, her wet blonde hair framing her pale bruised face. Tears still rolling down her cheeks.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

He was tired, but not tired enough to stop for the night. He knew the BAU would be working through the night trying to find him. He knew Jennifer was detail-oriented and would give them clues as to who he was, but that they would never be able to find him.

He thought about his night with Jennifer Jareau. He relished the many ways he made her his. He thought about the dead girl and how Jennifer had resisted. It made him excited to know that he had helped her take her first innocent life.

He pictured Jennifer. He wondered if she was picturing him. His heart thumped in his chest as he recalled the feel of her skin, her lips, her hair. He felt powerful as he thought about the fear he could smell on her. He knew he was forever in her life. He knew he would have to have her again.

He flashed his ID badge and a smile, and walked straight into Quantico. His co-workers greeted him amiably. He felt sorry for them all. As smart as his fellow feds were, he knew they would never be the genius he was. He knew they would never in a million years peg him for a serial killer.

He closed the door of his office and went to work on his laptop. After firing through back door programs and bypassing firewalls he was able to see the files the BAU had. He was impressed with the security their great Penelope Garcia had set up, but nothing was too much for the programs he had installed. He knew he could get in and out of their system completely unseen by them.

He perused their files and finally, there she was, his Jennifer. Unclothed and posing for him, every mark his for the viewing.

He smirked and spoke to himself, "This is going to be fun."


	8. In My Darkest Hour

8

In My Darkest Hour

Aaron Hotchner hung up the phone in his office. The cubicles in the bull pen below were empty with the exception of Spencer Reid. It was quiet, almost eerie. The only people present in the BAU offices were his team. Morgan, Rossi, and Garcia were huddled together in Garcia's office.

Aaron watched the youngest BAU member. He could see the wheels turning in Reid's brain. He hoped that the genius could figure out the connection between the Unsub and JJ. They had all been following leads regarding military and ex-military individuals. The phone call Aaron had just completed had been with someone in the State Department regarding sexual predators in the military. It was a dead end.

Aaron dared to let himself think about JJ. He wanted to be near her, to see for himself that she was going to survive it all. She was the unspoken heart of the team. The time they spent without her when she was working for the State Department was bad enough. She was their loved one, their sister. Aaron thought about the attachments they all had to one another. He knew that it was those attachments that made them the success they were.

As much as wanted to see JJ, he needed to find her torturer first. Aaron sat back down at his desk and picked up the heavy folder containing every piece of information they had so far. He scanned the short report regarding the package that JJ had received about the case to begin with. It was not remarkable and contained no evidence. Aaron could see how JJ would think it was the typical information packet she normally received from local law enforcement asking for help.

He flipped a few more pages purposely avoiding the hospital report and pictures. He was deep in thought when a voice at his office door pulled him from his reverie.

"Hotch," Spencer Reid was standing at his door. He looked tired, but determined.

"What is it Reid?" Hotch answered, his voice was hoarse from exhaustion.

Spencer looked perplexed as he paced several steps and back again, "I was trying to come up with a plausible answer as to who would do this to JJ."

Hotch felt hope rise up in his chest, "And?"

Reid shook his head, "I couldn't think of anything, but one thing keeps bothering me. Nowhere in the reports is there any mention of the victim we were trying to locate when JJ was taken."

Hotch frowned, "You're right. JJ never mentioned the girl during the exam, or when giving a statement."

Reid twitched his mouth thoughtfully and leaned against the door frame of Aaron's office, "He could have disposed of the previous victim before he took JJ."

Aaron's expression was neither that of agreement or disagreement, "It's possible, but the time he likes to take with the victims wouldn't have expired."

"True," Reid allowed, "But if JJ was his end goal all this time…"

Aaron shook his head, "Despite the fact that the unsub knew a lot about JJ, it doesn't necessarily indicate that JJ was or is his true goal."

Aaron looked at Reid and was glad to see ample concern in his eyes. The team was experiencing a rift due to the lies they had told to protect Emily Prentiss. He knew Reid had been the angriest with JJ. Reid sat down in the chair in front of Aaron's desk and sighed, "We have to find him, Hotch. She won't be safe until we do."

Aaron nodded, "We will. I'm going to get a message to Emily and have her ask JJ if she knows anything about the victim we were searching for."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Baby girl, I know this isn't easy for you, knowing what JJ went through, but that should be even more motivation to get this guy," Derek Morgan urged Penelope Garcia to put aside her exhaustion and dig further.

Penelope sighed, her shoulders drooping, "I thought for sure that Thomas Gorman was going to be the unsub, but he died three months ago. I've tried everything I can to find something, anything, about who did this to JJ. He's a ghost. No military data I can access, legally or otherwise, points a finger. I've ran every parameter I can think of, dishonorably discharged, honorably discharged, those with patterns of sexual violence, the numbers are in the hundreds of hundreds."

Rossi, who had been quietly mulling over the facts and theories, spoke up, "He hides in plain sight."

Morgan was instantly interested in Rossi's knowing expression, "Where are you going with that?"

David Rossi stood and pointed to the various pictures of the unsub's crime scenes, "He knew where we would be searching. He knew JJ. He knew too much."

Morgan began to follow Rossi's line of thinking, "So he could be FBI with a military background?"

Garcia gasped at the thought that someone they should be able to trust, someone like them, could hurt JJ so badly. She began to run parameters on her software before Morgan or Rossi could even ask. She wasn't even sure what to look for, but she knew she had to look. It was all she could do.

She quickly offered information, "Again, hundreds of FBI with military background. Many in this very building."

"Okay, so if he's FBI, then maybe he's had some reprimands. Someone like this, someone this sadistic, can't have gone under the radar all this time," Morgan offered as Penelope continued to type.

Rossi shook his head, "I think you can look, but you're not going to find him that way."

"Why not?" Penelope paused and looked at the two agents.

"If he's federal, he would be a meticulous rule follower. He would never draw attention to himself. He would be submissive to authority. His military training would give him the ability to follow a leader. In his work life he wouldn't be in charge. He would also be able to control his rage, his anger. Special forces would give him the ability to slip in and out of situations completely undetected."

Penelope was tired. Her mind wasn't working the way she knew she needed it to. She was almost thankful when Morgan looked at her with concern, "Why don't you get a few hours' sleep?"

Rossi nodded, "You can use the sofa in my office. We promise we won't touch any of your computers."

Penelope reluctantly agreed. She hugged Rossi and Morgan and left her office. Morgan waited until she had disappeared down the hallway before looking at Rossi, "JJ is the only one who's going to be able to get this guy, isn't she?"

Rossi rubbed his tired face with both hands, "I'm afraid so."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Emily exhaled slowly as she watched JJ sleep. She felt greatly saddened by the bruises on her friend's face, the devastation in her life. The blonde showed signs of distress. Emily glanced at the clock on the nightstand. The red numbers glared back at her. 3:52am. She sat up on the bed, tired of trying to sleep. She knew that JJ's nightmares would wake her soon enough.

She examined the water-damaged cast on JJ's wrist. She knew she should have gotten it off before JJ fell asleep, but she wanted JJ to rest. She tried to imagine the fear and uncertainty JJ was feeling. Emily stood up and stretched the aching muscles in her back. Her feet were still sore from hours of walking in the woods the previous night. She knew no matter how much she hurt, nothing compared to JJ's troubles.

JJ turned in the bed, a whimper escaping from her mouth. Emily wondered what her friend was seeing in her sleep. She thought about getting her bag from downstairs and debated whether or not she would have enough time to get back upstairs before JJ woke up. She didn't want her to be alone.

Emily decided to wait until morning. She looked at her gun on the dresser and felt safer for herself and JJ knowing it was loaded and ready to shoot if necessary. She walked to the window and looked out of the blinds. Close to the house she saw one of the agents patrolling. Emily was glad to see the Bureau doing its job diligently.

Her cell phone vibrated softly on the nightstand. She quickly grabbed it and saw that Hotch was calling her. She answered softly, her voice a whisper, "Hotch? Tell me you have something?"

She could hear him sigh on the other end, "Not yet. How is she?"

Emily looked at JJ. She could see the glisten of sweat on her forehead, "Not good."

"Is she sleeping?"

Emily was glad to hear the deep concern in his voice, "She is…for now."

"When she wakes up, I need you to find out if she knows anything about the victim we were looking for when she was taken."

"She's pretty fragile, Hotch. I don't know if it's a good idea to push her so soon…"

Hotch cut her off, "Listen Emily. We have to find him. Those nightmares, those flashbacks, they won't stop. Not ever, unless we find this guy. When we find him that's one less terror she will have to face in overcoming all of this."

Emily exhaled a breath she had been holding. "I'll do my best. But I'm not going to hurt her, Hotch. I won't make her do anything she doesn't want to do. She's been through too much already."

Hotch gave her a few more instructions and wished her luck with the promise that Penelope would be able to join them in the afternoon hours. Emily hung up the phone and looked at JJ. The instinct to protect her friend was growing greater by the second. She felt guilt consuming her. She knew that she was partly to blame for what happened to JJ in those woods.

Her phone buzzed with a text message. She looked to see a warning from Penelope Garcia, "About to catch a few hours shut-eye. We think the unsub might be FBI. Not sure yet. Be careful."

Emily sent back, "Thank you for the heads-up. Will be glad when you get here later."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

_**Drip. Drip. Drip. **__JJ felt the pain surge through her entire body. Her heart stumbled through the fear. He was just staring at her. Proud of the chaos he had created within her soul. Lying completely still she could hear every sound in the small cabin._

_**Drip. Drip. Drip.**__ She could smell the blood. She could feel it on her hands. But the sound of it dripping form the girl's lifeless body to the wooden floor below, it made her the sickest. Even the thing he had just done to her didn't make her feel as terrified or disgusted as killing the woman did. Her life was built around catching the bad guy and saving the victims. _

_ The bile rose in her throat. She wanted to throw up. She wanted to expel every last feeling of guilt and shame from her body. Before she could vomit, she felt herself being lifted off the floor and thrown to the bed. He had already told her that she was his. They would always be connected. _

_ She fought as he tied her to the bed. She was surprised that she was still able to fight. He left her laying there, exposed, cold, injured and alone with the dead girl staring back at her._

JJ woke up terrified. The scream had been loud enough to cause her temporary roommate to jump from her position by the window. JJ was relieved to feel the soft embrace of her friend.

"It's okay, JJ. I'm here. I'm still here."

JJ couldn't stop the words from spilling out, "He's going to keep doing it. He's never going to stop. He's going to keep killing and hurting girls. He's never going to stop."

JJ couldn't breathe. She couldn't get enough air into her lungs. She pushed Emily away, and scrambled from the bed. She quickly ran into the bathroom and fell to her knees in front of the toilet. Emily was right there with her, pulling her long blonde hair back. 

JJ didn't want to throw up. She didn't want to be so affected, but she couldn't fight it. When her stomach finally released her from her agony, she sat backwards against the wall of the bathroom. The bright light hurt her eyes, but she welcomed it none the less.

Emily was wiping her face with a cold washcloth. She took the cloth from Emily and laid her face in it. Embarrassed by her lack of control and ashamed of the multiple things she had not yet told her friend, her teammate.

"I could tell you that it's going to be okay, but the truth is, I have no idea what you're going through. I can't tell you how to feel, or how you're going to feel. I can't tell you how to survive this, JJ. But I can offer my shoulder to lean on, and my superb listening skills when you're ready to talk about things."

An image of the dead girl's eyes flashed into JJ's memory. She began to cry again, amazed that she had any tears left. This time, the crying was mournful, and painful. She curled herself into Emily's arms and wept. She wanted to tell Emily about the girl. She wasn't sure how to let it out.

Emily said nothing and just held tightly onto JJ. JJ's thin hands gripped tightly around Emily's waist, holding on for dear life. Her head was hidden against Emily's collar bone, her voice was quiet as she spoke through tears, not moving from her place of safety.

"I killed her, Emily. I killed the girl."

She felt Emily's hold on her grow a little tighter. She could hear the uncertainty in the brunette's voice, "What do you mean, JJ?"

JJ took a deep breath in and then exhaled slowly, "He knocked me out in the woods. When I woke up I was in that cabin. On that bed. I was so scared. But when I saw her, what he was doing to her, I was…terrified."

"What happened after you woke up, JJ?"

"I closed my eyes, I couldn't watch him do that to her, the same things he did to me. I couldn't watch that."

She felt Emily nod, "Any one of us would feel the same, JJ. That doesn't make you responsible for what happened to her."

JJ sat up and looked Emily in the eyes, "I was holding the knife when she died, Emily."

She could see the shock in Emily's eyes, "JJ?"

"He made me hold the knife with him. It's how my wrist was broken. I fought him. It's how the cut got on my hands. My hand slipped off the knife and slid on the blade. He made me help him hold the knife when he killed her."

Emily pulled JJ back into her arms, "JJ, he killed her, not you. You couldn't stop him. You are not to blame, do you hear me?"

JJ could only cry harder. She felt absolved of some of her guilt, but she knew it would be a very long time before she believed what Emily was saying completely. They stayed huddled together for a while before finally JJ lifted her head from Emily's shoulder.

Emily looked at her cast thoughtfully, "How about we go downstairs to the kitchen and find a way to get that thing off. Maybe one of the agents guarding the place knows where an ace bandage is."

JJ nodded. She felt drained, but she was absolutely sure she didn't want to go back to sleep. Sleep was where he was always going to be waiting for her, to repeat the things he had already done to her. She stood up with help from Emily.

She stopped in the bedroom as Emily reached the door, "I'm going to put my jeans on."

Emily nodded, "Want me to wait right here?"

JJ looked at the window and knew the sun wasn't up yet, "Please."

She hated how weak she sounded. She knew she was going to have to be stronger if she was going to survive any of this. She thought about Henry. His beautiful innocent face depended on her for smiles and love.

Emily sat down on the edge of the bed, "I don't know what you're feeling JJ, but I do know you, and you are going to be okay. We will get through this. Together."

JJ avoided eye contact as she slipped off her yoga pants and slid on a pair of jeans she retrieved from her bag. Her ribs ached and every inch of skin burned and pulled with each movement she made. She thought about the burns on her body, the mark from the belt buckle.

She slid off her shirt and stood in front of the mirror with her hands across her breasts. She could feel Emily's eyes on her. It didn't bother her. Emily was the only person she could trust with every part of her broken psyche.

"Some of these marks are going to scar," JJ's voice trembled with sorrow.

She watched in the mirror as Emily nodded behind her, "Some will."

"The belt markings?" JJ wasn't sure how bad they were, she couldn't see her back.

Emily stood and took a step closer to JJ, "I think they will fade."

JJ nodded imperceptibly, "The bites?"

Emily shook her head, "Not sure about this one."

She pointed to one on JJ's right shoulder. JJ turned a little in the mirror so she could see what Emily was talking about. She could see the bright red blood-colored teeth patterns. She shuddered as she remembered how much it had hurt. He had bitten her, like a wild animal, as he had raped her.

She allowed herself to let a few tears escape, before turning away from the mirror and Emily and slipping on a different long-sleeve t-shirt. Her clothes usually fit her perfectly, but the fact that they formed to her slim body made her suddenly very self-conscious.

Her hand instinctively fluttered to her right hip. She turned again to Emily who waited patiently by the door, "Does anyone know where my gun is?"


	9. Stranger In My Skin

**9**

**Stranger in My Skin**

JJ could feel Emily's eyes on her from across the kitchen table. Her left wrist throbbed beneath the ace bandage Emily placed on it after cutting off the ruined cast. The pain was the least of her aches. She wrapped her uninjured hand tightly around a hot mug of coffee and tried to understand the myriad of emotions crawling through her. She looked at the cell phone sitting next to her untouched breakfast.

She thought about her phone call to Henry half an hour earlier. His voice was so tiny. JJ wanted to protect him from everything evil in the world. She wanted to protect him from what was currently happening to her. She had told him she loved him and made sure he knew she was coming home very soon.

JJ chanced a glance at Emily. Her friend's eyes were staring glumly into her own coffee. She wanted to make small talk with Emily. She wanted to talk about a case other than her own. She wanted to laugh about the funny things Morgan and Garcia said. She wanted to listen to the random facts and statistics that Spence would come up with about nothing. She wanted to feel normal.

It had been 36 hours and so far she felt anything but that. She looked at the bruising peeking out of her long sleeves. Her skin didn't even seem like it belonged to her any more. JJ was surprised when she felt Emily's hand touch hers. She looked up again and found Emily's brown eyes staring back at her.

"It's okay to feel however you need to feel, JJ."

JJ wasn't sure why, but her heart felt less broken with those words. She felt like she needed that permission to feel something.

JJ nodded and licked her dry lips, "I wasn't sure…"

Her voice cracked. She didn't want to cry again. She gathered her thoughts and took a deep breath, "I wasn't sure if I was going to live to see Henry again. Or you. Or the team."

Emily's shoulders sagged under the weight of what JJ was saying, "You thought you were going to die?"

JJ nodded again, her blue eyes fighting back the tears, "God Emily, that poor girl."

Emily knew she was talking about the girl that had died in JJ's presence, "I know, JJ. I know. But it's not your fault. Don't forget that."

JJ didn't move. The comfort of Emily's hand on hers was all she needed to feel connected to the world. It was a world that, for her, had changed irrevocably. She pushed a flash of her kidnapping to the back of her mind and thought about how to catch him.

"What are you thinking right now, JJ?" Emily asked.

JJ shrugged, "I don't know how to catch him."

"Why don't you leave that up to the team?"

JJ shook her head, "Because none of you knows what he looks like. You don't know him. You haven't spent time in a room with this bastard."

Emily pulled her hand from JJ's and picked up the dirty breakfast plates, "Believe me JJ, if I could spend time in a room with him, I would tear him apart limb from limb."

JJ pulled her feet off the floor and into the chair. She hugged her knees tightly against her chest and spoke softly, "I wish I could have been more like you when I was taken."

Emily dropped the dishes in the sink and turned to JJ, "What do you mean?"

JJ looked at her, her blue eyes filled with sorrow, "You're so much stronger than I am. You have this ability to go into full agent mode, to drop the emotions and get straight to work. Me? I don't have the strength you do. I don't have that talent. When he…when he got the drop on me in the woods, you would never have let that happen."

Emily sat down again, this time pulling her chair as close to JJ's as she could. She placed her hands on JJ's knees and looked her friend straight in the eyes, "JJ, your strength comes in being able to feel. Shutting off emotions isn't a sign of strength. It's a sign of weakness. I shut off my emotions because I can't handle them. Because I can't feel and do my job at the same time. You? You can do both, and you have for a long time. It's not your emotions or lack of skill that got you taken from those woods. It was your need to prove something to the team. The team who had turned their back on you for something not in your control. Believe me when I say that they feel really guilty for that as well."

JJ shook her head, "But it's not their fault."

Emily's lips curved upward into a soft smile, "Right. And it's not yours either."

JJ nodded seeing how Emily had turned that around on her, "I get it."

JJ picked up her coffee mug, dismayed to see her hand trembling. She set the mug back on the table without taking a drink. Losing control of her emotions was one thing, but losing control physically was something completely different.

Emily's voice was reassuring, "The adrenalin will fade eventually. When we catch him, it will fade."

JJ thought about that. She had only thought about escaping him. She wasn't sure what would happen when she had to come face to face with him again. She thought about her gun again. She realized Emily had avoided answering the question earlier of the whereabouts of her gun.

"Emily? Did they find my gun in the woods?"

Emily nodded, "Yeah. We found it. It was part of evidence, so I'm sure as soon as they find no prints on it they'll bring it back to you."

"Why did you avoid that question earlier?" JJ was feeling more than a little paranoid but she also knew that feeling paranoid didn't mean no one was hiding something.

Emily sighed, "I don't know. I think…You're just beginning…"

"Oh…" JJ connected the dots easily, "You think that if I have a gun, I'll kill myself."

It was Emily's turn to fight back the tears, "I don't know."

"Not something you have to worry about Emily. What he did was terrible. Worse than horrific, but I won't do that to Henry. Or you. Or anyone else I love. After what happened with my sister, I know that's never an answer to any kind of pain."

Emily's body visibly relaxed, "Good. Because I don't know what I would do without you JJ. You're my best friend. I know that's cheesy, but when you were missing and we couldn't find you, I was panicking inside."

JJ's heart warmed with Emily's confession, "You're my best friend too and I know with you here I will get through this."

Emily got up and kissed the top of JJ's head, "I'll be right back."

JJ sat quietly as she waited for Emily to return. She could see out the window and noticed the guards from the night shift were changing duties with the first shift. She knew the new guards would be introducing themselves in a few minutes.

Emily returned with a gun in a belt holster, "Here. I brought a backup just in case. It's from my personal collection."

JJ suddenly felt safer than she had moments earlier. She wrapped the gun belt around her tiny waist and fastened it. She pulled the gun from the holster and checked the ammunition. Satisfied that it was in ready condition she hugged Emily.

"Thank you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Garcia awoke with an idea in her head. She was on the couch in Rossi's office. She glanced at the time on her phone and realized she had slept more than a few hours, it was well after lunch. She jumped up and after adjusting her clothes, she sprinted to her office. After several minutes of tapping at the keyboard, she found what she was looking for. She cross-referenced the information she had found with other parameters. She printed out four copies of the data and rushed out of her office.

She walked quickly to the briefing room where the team often gathered to solve cases. She was surprised to find the men of the BAU team sitting around the round table already discussing things. She stood in the doorway breathlessly trying to speak. Hotch looked at her as he always did, amused and patient, "Garcia? Do you have something?"

"Maybe, sir. I'm sure Derek and Rossi filled you in on their theory about it being an FBI agent."

Hotch nodded, "They did and right now it's the most likely theory we have."

Garcia nodded; hope gleaming in her eyes, "Right. So I thought about the cabin in the woods and how I found it to begin with. It was federal property. When Thomas Gorman was arrested for poaching it was on federal property. Therefore it would have been federal agents that would have arrested him."

"Go on," Rossi encouraged her.

She nodded and continued, "Right. So, I came up with a list of all the agents that would have worked that case. Any agent that might have been in the woods during that time. They would have known about the cabin, sirs."

Spencer Reid's voice cracked, "Garcia, did you run any parameters on these names with anyone that was military, or that had been reprimanded before?"

Garcia smiled, "Glad you asked and of course I did. I checked the names against those who served in the military Special Forces. None of which had any reprimands. The list is, as you can see, is only five names long. All we have to do is pull their agent ID photos and show them to JJ. We'll have him."

Morgan slapped his hands together, "That's my baby girl! I knew you could figure it out."

Hotch nodded, "Let's get those printed out and go see JJ."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Emily returned the phone back to her pocket and looked at JJ who was sitting on the chair in the living room, "The whole team is on its way."

JJ suddenly felt uncomfortable, "I thought Penelope was the only one coming."

"Apparently Garcia may have found a break in the case. They're bringing pictures of the list of agents she was able to come up who are possibly this unsub."

JJ let Emily's words soak in for a moment. She turned her eyes to Emily who was once again looking out the window, "Wait. Agents?"

Emily nodded, "With the access he had to you, knowing where we were, knowing you were a part of the BAU. The cabin being on federal land, it all points to the unsub being a federal agent."

JJ's heart began to beat faster, "Is that why you keep looking out the window? You're not sure you can trust the agents out there guarding us?"

"We can't be too careful. We both have our weapons and the team is on the way. We just bide our time and we'll be okay."

JJ moved from the chair to stand next to Emily at the window. She looked at the guard Emily could see. She studied his face, his movements. JJ was unaware that she audibly sighed. She could see the look of relief pass over Emily's face.

"How many more are there?" JJ asked.

"The female guard in the kitchen, and two more males out back."

JJ walked to the back of the house through a long hall. Her right hand hovered over her gun. Emily followed immediately. They could see one of the guards from the kitchen window. The female guard watched the two women as they peered out the window.

"Is it him?" Emily asked, ready to kill if JJ nodded.

"No." JJ seemed both relieved and angry.

"One more to go," Emily said. She looked at the agent in the kitchen, "Where's the third agent outside."

"West side of the house," she replied. "Do I need to go with you?"

Emily shook her head, "No. I think we're okay. What's the agent's name on the west side?"

"Lennon."

Emily and JJ walked out the back door. This time Emily took the lead. She could feel JJ trembling behind her.

"Listen, JJ, if this is the guy, I need you to ID him quickly, okay?" Emily whispered.

JJ tried to calm the blood rushing through her temples, every inch of her body was pulsating with pain. She nodded toward Emily. She wasn't surprised to see Emily's gun was partly drawn. Her teammate, her friend was ready to shoot.

Emily called out to the unseen agent, "Agent Lennon? This is Agent Prentiss. Where are you?"

"Ma'am?" A young man wearing a wrinkled suit stepped from the side of the house, his hand on the but of his gun still in its holster.

JJ shook her head as Emily looked back at her. Emily nodded and secured her gun its holster, "Just wanted to see you."

"This is me," he said, a goofy grin on his face.

"Be very aware," Emily informed him. "We have good reason to believe that the man we're protecting our agent from is also FBI."

Agent Lennon frowned, "Yes ma'am."

Emily thanked him for his time as JJ surveyed the woods surrounding the safe house. JJ peered deep in to the darkness within the trees and prayed she wouldn't have to go anywhere near them. She felt Emily tug her arm gently and she followed her back inside.

They returned to the living room and sat on the couch together. JJ leaned against Emily, both for physical support as well as emotional support. Emily slipped an arm around JJ's shoulders.

"At least we know he's not here," Emily's voice sounded unsure.

JJ swiped at a tear that had gone unnoticed by Emily, "Not yet, anyway.


	10. Torn

**10**

**Torn**

As he watched the house from the woods behind it, he could see a government issue, black Chevrolet SUV pull into the driveway. He was dismayed when he saw the rest of Jennifer's team exit the vehicle and then disappear in front of the house. He knew they were going inside and that they would be near his Jennifer. He could feel the hate rise in his chest. He wanted to destroy them.

Time passed slowly as he sat and watched. Finally he saw Rossi exit the back door and speak to the guard there. He was curious as Rossi returned inside and the guard from the back called out to his shift partners.

"Lennon! We're out of here," the agent said.

A younger agent came from the west side of the house, "What's that?"

The first agent nodded, "Yeah, something about reassignment. The unsub has been identified and they're going after him. They need us back at Quantico to help out. Get the others and let's go."

He watched them leave. They actually left. Leaving the BAU team alone in the house.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

JJ wasn't sure how she would feel to see everyone for the first time since she had been taken. It had been just 36 hours, and the pain coursing through her body and her soul was more electric than ever. She allowed herself to be gathered in Garcia's arms the minute she pushed her way into the room. JJ relished the comfort, like a child would a mother's hug.

She didn't chance a glance at the rest of the team, the men that loved her like their sister. She could feel shame rising within, as she felt their eyes on her. She knew they were waiting for her to freak out, or have a meltdown. Either way, she steadied herself for the onslaught of pity that would come from them.

She was surprised when Reid was the first of them to step forward, "JJ, I'm so sorry we weren't there to stop him. But we will get him before he can hurt you again."

JJ looked up into Spencer Reid's knowing eyes and found no pity, only regret and the need to be forgiven. She slipped her shaking body into his embrace and was thankful for the comfort. It was neither scary, nor reminiscent of force. She pulled away from Reid and accepted a nod from Hotch, a shoulder squeeze from Morgan and a fatherly side hug from Rossi. Without a word she sat in the middle of the empty couch in the living room and pulled her knees to her chest.

Emily sat to her right, and Penelope quickly sat to her left. Reid sat in the oversized chair by the fireplace and Morgan and Rossi remained standing. Hotch knelt in front of JJ with pictures in his hand. JJ could see the worry etched into his otherwise stony expression. She knew that worry was for her, and she was thankful.

"These are the faces we need you to look at," his voice was wavering between doubt and hope.

JJ took a deep breath and accepted the photographs Hotch handed her. She felt Emily's arm wrap around her shoulders. Her sad blue eyes looked at Emily and then back to the pictures. The face on top was completely unknown to her. With a shaky hand, she handed the top photograph back to Hotch and looked at the next picture. His face looked familiar to JJ, but she knew it was because she had seen him around Quantico, nothing more. She let her eyes glance around at the faces staring back at her. Their gazes were making her tremble further.

Her ribs ached, her bandaged wrist throbbed as she held tightly to the pictures, and the parts of her that he had hurt the most were making her woozy with pain. She pushed past the physical injuries she was enduring and tried to focus again on the photographs. She handed the second picture to Hotch and dared to look at the third man. She immediately handed it to Hotch not recognizing him either, and then looked at the fourth picture.

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Her breath became shallow and she found it hard to swallow. Emily sat up straighter next to her and put her hand on JJ's.

"Is it him?" Emily's voice gave JJ a tether to reality, keeping her from slipping backwards into the nightmare that was.

JJ tried not to cry as she looked at the face of evil captured in a photograph, his smile wicked and knowing. She handed it to Hotch and nodded. She turned her body into Emily's hold and buried her face in her shoulder. She didn't want the whole team to see her break down, but she couldn't stop the cries of panic and pain from rising within. She was thankful when Garcia shooed everyone but her and Emily out of the living room and toward the kitchen.

For ten minutes they sat together, JJ crying, Penelope rubbing her back and Emily wrapping her in a secure embrace.

Suddenly, JJ sucked in a deep breath and sat up, "I can't break down. I can't. Not now. Not yet. He's out there, and now we have a face."

Garcia nodded, "And a name."

JJ turned to Penelope, her blue eyes bright in contrast to the red of her tear stained face, "His name?"

"Oliver Madison."

JJ shook her head. His name wasn't familiar, and until 36 hours earlier she had never seen him before. She rubbed her face with her hands, clearing away the remaining tears. She stuffed down her emotions and the things she really needed to let out.

"JJ, it's okay to break down," Emily's voice was soft.

JJ stood up from the couch and moved to the window, "Not right now, Emily. I can't. We have to catch him first and he's not a coward. He's absolutely not afraid of showing up here."

"She's right," Hotch's voice was strong, certain. "We've got Kevin in his office right now going through his tech. He's not there. He's gone. His office is cleared out."

Penelope looked stunned, "He knew we were on to him. He knew we were close."

Reid appeared behind Hotch, "Kevin just found his backdoor approach to our system."

"You mean my system?" Penelope asked, anger swelling in her voice. "But if he was watching us or listening to us through our system then he knows we're here now. He knows where 'here' is."

JJ nodded, knowing the indications of what Garcia was saying. Oliver Madison, in all of his disgusting sickness, was coming for her. She felt a cold, calm wash over her. Her voice was disturbingly steady, "Let him come."

Emily stepped in front of JJ, her brown eyes searching the younger woman's face, "J, are you sure?"

JJ wasn't sure of much. She was torn between running to safety and hiding away forever, and fighting. With every scratch, bite and cut he had made in her skin, she had lost a small part of herself. She knew that when he had forced himself on her not once or twice, but three times, she had retreated so far in herself that she wasn't sure who she would be when it was all over. What she was sure of was that it had to be over. JJ was sure that if she was ever going to move forward and deal with anything, the immediate danger had to be eliminated.

JJ knew that the only way to eliminate the immediate danger was to eliminate Oliver Madison. She was going to use herself as bait. It was the only way.

Her voice didn't crack. It was strong and in control, "I'm sure."

Emily looked for any signs of doubt on JJ's face. She saw none, not one flicker of fear, "Okay."

Emily looked at the rest of the team. None of them were moving. They were barely breathing. Hotch exhaled slowly and nodded, "We need a plan."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Time passed slowly as Oliver Madison sat and watched. After what seemed like forever, he saw Rossi exit the back door and speak to the guard there. He was curious as Rossi returned inside and the guard from the back called out to his shift partners.

"Lennon! We're out of here," the agent said.

A younger agent came from the west side of the house, "What's that?"

The first agent nodded, "Yeah, something about reassignment. The unsub has been identified and they're going after him. They need us back at Quantico to help out. Get the others and let's go."

He watched them leave. They actually left the BAU team alone in the house with his Jennifer. He moved to the side of the house and crouched below a window there. He waited breathlessly as he heard the front door opening, followed by voices and footsteps onto the porch there.

He recognized Agent Hotchner's voice, "Garcia, keep us informed of her condition and let us know if you see anything suspicious."

"Yes sir, but do you really think he's coming here?"

Oliver felt his stomach flip as Hotchner continued to speak, "Oliver Madison is a smart man. There's no way he would come after JJ here. Our intel seems pretty accurate. We'll be heading to the airport and then to his house in Tennessee."

It was Agent Prentiss' voice he heard next, "Don't worry Hotch. We'll take good care of her."

"I know you will."

Oliver Madison couldn't believe it when the four male agents slipped into their SUV and drove away. He was dumbfounded by the luck he was having. He could easily take out two women, and then it would be him and Jennifer. He would have all the time in the world with her.


	11. Selling the Drama

**11**

**Selling the Drama**

Penelope Garcia took JJ's hand in her own, "How are you holding up, sweet angel?"

JJ wasn't sure what the answer was to Penelope's question. She was holding up pretty well considering what she had been through, and yet she was falling apart inside knowing that Oliver Madison was going to come back for her. She felt the weight of the gun on her hip and didn't feel any safer. The gun could help save her life, she knew that much was true, but she also knew that it was going to take a clear mind to bring down the monster that haunted her.

"I'm okay, Pen," JJ answered, not sure what other words to use.

Penelope nodded gently and guided JJ to the couch. JJ was relieved to sit down. Her body felt heavy with the pain that coursed through it. JJ dared to lay her head on the small pillow on the couch. She felt dizzy and exhausted. She felt scared, but as she closed her eyes she knew that she was safe with Emily and Penelope. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a voice whispered to her to sleep, because she was going to need it.

XXXXXXXXXX

"She's exhausted," Emily sipped on her fourth cup of coffee as she sat down at the kitchen table across from Penelope.

"Should we leave her alone in there?" Penelope asked as she craned her neck to see if she could see into the living room. "I don't like not being able to see her from here."

Emily shrugged, "Trust me. She won't sleep long."

Penelope took note of the dark circles beginning to form under Emily's brown eyes, "You haven't been sleeping either, huh?"

Emily shook her head, "No. I try to sleep when she sleeps, but I start worrying about her, and how she's going to handle it all after we get this bastard."

Penelope reached across the table and patted Emily's hand, "We will be there for her. We will help her. JJ is strong. Stronger than any of us know. She's going to be okay."

"God, I hope you're right."

"I'm the supreme wise woman," Penelope half smiled, "Of course I'm right."

Emily's heart was beating hard, knowing that the trap they were setting for Oliver Madison was already in play. The coffee, the sleeping bait on the couch, it was to entice him to make his move, to walk straight into the plan they set in motion.

Penelope looked out the kitchen window as she stood to pace, "Where do you think he will come in?"

Emily shook her head, "Most likely the front door. This guy isn't afraid of us. To him we're just useless, weak women. He will most likely come charging through the front door."

"Then shouldn't we move upstairs and get ready for the attack?"

Emily shook her head, "Nope. We stay right here and we show no fear."

XXXXXXXXXX

Getting into the house had been no issue for Oliver Madison. The basement had an unlocked ground level window. He laughed at lack of security and made a mental note to make sure, when he got back to Quantico, that all safe houses were inspected. His athletic physique had enabled him to drop silently onto the concrete floor with no real effort.

He looked around the dark basement. His eyes adjusted to the blackness. He didn't see anything of any use, so he moved instead to the stairs. He had memorized the blueprints of this particular safe house after hearing the BAU team say where Jennifer was. He knew the kitchen was at the top of the stairs.

He also knew that Jennifer was asleep in the living room. What he wouldn't give to be in that room with her. But first he would have to get rid of the two female agents with her. He knew he wouldn't kill them. He wanted a harder challenge. He wanted to capture them both so that Jennifer could see what he would do for her.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Emily and Penelope returned to the living room just in time to see JJ bolt upright from her sleeping position on the couch. Emily was the first to her side wrapping her arms around her friend. Penelope watched as JJ sank exhaustedly into Emily's embrace.

JJ pulled away and wiped at some stray tears, "He's never going to stop."

Emily wiped a tear from JJ's cheek, "We're going to make him stop, JJ. I promise you. We're going to make him."

JJ stood up, feeling every single bit of fatigue, pain, and fear coursing through her small frame. She shook off the fatigue long enough to listen to her instincts, "He's not going to stop until he finishes what he started with me."

Penelope shook her head in concern, "I think we need to call the rest of the team. I don't think this is a good idea."

Emily held up her hand as if to stop Penelope from speaking, "No. This is going to work. JJ, it was your idea. Are you still on board?"

JJ let the fear settle into her heart, each beat gave renewed strength to her resolve, "We're doing this."

XXXXXXXXXX

He crept quietly from the kitchen into the dark, empty dining room. He was hidden, but mere feet from where the three women stood. None of them had their weapons drawn. He knew his challenge had begun.

XXXXXXXXXX

JJ's heart jumped as suddenly a gun and then the man of her nightmares appeared beside Emily. His arm wrapped tightly around Emily's waist and he pushed the barrel of the gun forcefully against Emily's temple. JJ swallowed a scream. Her entire body shook. Her hand hovered over the weapon at her side.

"No, no, Jennifer. I wouldn't do that. I could shoot them both before you ever draw your weapon. Is that what you want?"

Penelope stepped slightly in front of JJ, guarding her against the monster that now held Emily. Emily remained stoic, calm. She caught Penelope's gaze and they locked eyes momentarily. JJ didn't notice their ocular communication. She was too focused on the gun he was holding. The same gun.

Something in JJ snapped into mechanical responsiveness, "You don't want them."

He looked at JJ with a disgusting longing, "No. I don't. I want you."

"Then have me," JJ answered. Her voice was void of emotion.

"Are you insane, JJ?" Penelope looked at JJ with exasperation.

JJ shook her head, "Just doing what has to be done if we all want to survive."

He laughed and pressed the gun harder against Emily's already bruising skin, "Sorry, Jennifer. I can't let your friends survive. It doesn't match my M.O., does it?"

JJ shook her head, "That's just it, Oliver. You don't have an M.O. You have a goal and you don't care what method you use to reach it. What's your goal, Oliver?"

Oliver smiled a sick grin, "I like to hear you say my name. You know my goal, Jennifer."

"Me," JJ responded. Emily could see the hatred in JJ's eyes. She could hear the venom in her voice.

He took his gun from Emily's temple just long enough to point to the couch with it, "You two sit."

Penelope moved first, but JJ's feet were planted firmly on the ground, "Let Emily go first."

Oliver looked thoughtfully from JJ to the gun at her side, "Put your gun on the floor and kick it over here."

JJ hesitated only a brief moment before unsnapping her holster, placing the gun on the ground and sliding over to Oliver Madison. Her jaw clenched tightly as he ran his hand seductively up Emily's thigh to her holster as well. He took her gun out and held onto it, while putting one foot over JJ's gun on the ground. He looked at Penelope and grinned.

"I would ask for your weapon, but we all know analysts aren't issued guns. And I know all about you and your refusal to be cruel or unkind to anyone or anything."

He pushed Emily into JJ and waved the gun, "Now sit."

Emily wrapped a protective arm around JJ's shoulder, as they sat next to Penelope on the couch. JJ was in the middle with Penelope to her left and Emily to her right. Oliver Madison tucked Emily's gun in his waistband, and picked up JJ's gun. He kept his and JJ's guns trained on the three girls.

"I suggest you don't do anything stupid."

Penelope couldn't stop herself from speaking, "You are pure evil."

"Am I?" Oliver smirked, "Maybe I had a tough childhood. Maybe I was beaten and tortured as a child and that's why I do this now."

"Were you?" Penelope asked.

Oliver shrugged, "Nah, I'm just evil."

Without giving them any time to react, he pointed the gun at Emily's leg and fired the weapon. Emily dropped to the floor, grabbing her thigh. Their attacker laughed as JJ moved quickly to the floor next to Emily and covered her wound with a blanket from the couch. The wound was survivable.

His laugh sent a shiver of terror down JJ's back as she turned her attention back to him. She felt the marks he had left on her body. She noticed that he was wearing the same belt he had beaten her with. She felt tears hiding behind her stoicism. She felt the fear and the pain rising to the surface. She wanted to cry. She wanted it all to be over. How had he gotten the upper hand?

She then stopped and looked at Emily. Emily nodded, barely perceptible. JJ knew then that there was still a plan. She looked to Penelope who was searching the cushion of the couch unseen by Oliver Madison. She knew she had to distract him before he noticed Penelope. She stood up.

"I'll go with you," JJ's voice shook as much as the rest of her body.

Oliver turned red, "I don't need you to volunteer, Jennifer. You're going with me because I say so."

His face was inches from hers, his breath hot on her face, "You're mine Jennifer Jareau. Always."

He turned to point his weapon at Penelope when suddenly she brought a gun up from the cushion of the couch and fired it directly at Oliver Madison's heart. Two shots. He fell with a thud to the floor, the guns in his hands falling away from him.

He looked up at JJ, as he struggled to breath, "You are mine."

JJ sobbed with relief as he took his last breath. She and Penelope immediately began to help Emily. Emily sat up and looked at Oliver Madison. The more she looked at him, the more she felt something wasn't right. Blood. There should be more blood.

Before she could say anything to JJ and Penelope, Oliver was sitting up and pulling Emily's gun from his waistband. He pointed it at the three girls.

_Boom_

The gun went off . This time, there was blood.


End file.
